Paterson, Katherine. The same stuff as stars.

PATERSON, Katherine. The same stuff as stars. HarperTrophy. 270p. c2002. 0-06055712-5. $5.99. J*

To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, September 2002: It's difficult to decide what is a YA novel, but in the end I feel that this story of a resilient child (11 years old) will have appeal to readers even older than she is, in the way that One Child by Torey Hayden appeals to all ages. Psychologists are wondering more and more why certain children seem to have the resilience to survive neglect and abuse, and why they are able to act like responsible adults for themselves and younger siblings when the need arises. Angel Morgan is just such a child. She lives in Vermont and would be classified by sociologists as part of the rural poor. Her father is in jail; her mother is incompetent.

After a visit to the prison at the beginning of the narrative, Angel's mother puts Angel and her younger brother Bernie into her old car, drives them to the father's grandmother, and then drives away, leaving the children with their great-grandmother. This is history repeating itself, because Angel's father as a child was dumped here as well. This is not a loving, nurturing grandmother, and her confidence in her own ability to raise children is nonexistent, for good reason. Angel manages the whining Bernie brilliantly and finds a way to get food on the table because she knows that canned peaches and baked beans from the grandmother's stock are insufficient nutrition. She gets connected to the local library, enrolls herself and her brother in school, endures the humiliating comments from her classmates, and generally copes with life's problems as they arise. She is nearly defeated, however, when her mother comes to Bernie's school secretly and takes him away, not communicating with Angel at all.

Since Paterson is a skilled author, and because she is a person of great compassion and understanding, she tells Angel's story in a way that helps us understand Angel's strength, without layers of useless sentiment. We don't see the child as a superhero, but we do see her as a kind of hero: courageous, loving, and amazingly resourceful. You may wonder where the title comes from, and in fact "the same stuff as stars" is a major theme of the story because Angel finds inspiration to continue struggling with this life by reading about stars and constellations and astronomy. (Her favorite books are Know the Stars, by H.A. key, and Starry Messenger, by Peter Sis.) She sneaks out at night to share a telescope with the broken-down man who lives in the old trailer on her grandmother's property. This man, who turns out to be her uncle, tells her that all the elements that go into building our bodies in fact are made up of the same stuff as stars, and thus we are connected to the universe intimately. For Angel, this is enough to keep her from total despair. Thanks to the fine talent of Paterson, children's literature has another memorable heroine. Claire Rosser, KLIATT