A “hot and gritty” story aimed at older teens, this
novel centers on Callie who was kidnapped at age five and lived a dozen years on the run with
her Mom until they are discovered and Callie is returned to her dad – and his
extended Greek family – in Florida. Callie struggles with the transition and
questions her identity: “Granddaughter, daughter, friend, a girl a normal boy
would date -- a growing list of people I don’t know how to be.”
While I enjoyed reading Where the Stars Still Shine and found the colorful cover
especially appealing, I also struggled with some aspects of the story:
·
Why did Callie not receive
any counseling?
·
Was her Dad so afraid of losing
her again that he could not bring himself to put any limits on her behavior?
·
Or was this just an aspect
of his personality and how he had treated her Mom in the past?
Doller raises these and other questions as she chronicles Callie’s
difficulties in building friendships and relationships. Teens will relate to Callie’s
confusion and Doller’s everyday example like choosing an ice cream cone to
illustrate Callie’s efforts to define her loyalties (should she pick the flavor
she always chose with her Mom or something new?). Readers looking for similar themes
may also like Just One Day by Forman, Rules of Survival by Werlin
or Story of a Girl by Zarr.
