The Blue Star: A Novel
Tony Earley
Little, Brown and Company
237 Park Ave, New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteBookGroupUSA.com
ISBN 9780316199070, $23.99
"The Blue Star" follows "Jim the Boy." Jim is
now a teenager growing up at the start of World War II. Jim has just
broken up with his girlfriend, Norma. She was too boring for him. Both
Norma and Jim's moms are not happy about the breakup because Jim
had already told Norma that he loved her, so they assumed that there
would be a marriage to follow. Jim's heart has already moved on to
Chrissie Steppe. She is the daughter of Injun Joe. Chrissie is
beautiful. Unfortunately, she has a boyfriend, Bucky Bucklaw. He is in
the Navy.
Jim develops a friendship with Chrissie. He admits that he loves
her. He discovers the complicated reasons of why she is not able to be
with him. Still he does not give up hope. His affection for her is very
apparent to everybody else in their school. As Jim gets to know Chrissie
better, he learns about his uncle's former relationship with her
mother. Jim and Chrissie's family history is extremely intertwined.
"The Blue Star" paints a vivid picture of life during the
early years of World War II. In his descriptions of the times, Tony
Earley creates a very real picture of how life was at that time. People
were dealing with family members going away to war. There was also a
great deal of poverty. Jim's relationship with his family is very
special. He is very close to three uncles since his father died when he
was young.
Jim's relationship with the women in his life was entertaining
to read about. He is close to his mother; however, she still wants him
to be with his ex-girlfriend. His ex-girlfriend is still in love with
him and has to learn to move beyond that. Chrissie seems to be in love
with him, but can't do anything about it. Jim's feelings for
her are very sweet. He has the normal teenage boy hormonal issues, yet
at his heart, he also truly cares for her.
I really enjoyed "The Blue Star." It is a classically,
timeless story. People of all ages will enjoy this story.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Midwest Book
Review Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights
reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.