Shooting Stars Everywhere
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
The first anonymous letter arrives on July 23rd, Victor’s 13th birthday. Which is good, because it gives him something to write about in the journal his father gave him as a present. Soon Victor is writing down everything that happens as he tries to solve the mystery of the letters, conquer his fear of jumping off the high diving board at the pool, and figure out what is going on between his divorced parents.
Things change when he meets D, however. A good diver and an assertive detective, she helps Victor to stop writing his life and start living it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This quietly intriguing novel-part mystery, part coming-of-age tale-opens as Victor Forlands discovers a letter in his mailbox on his 13th birthday, with no name and no address. Inside, he finds a brief, cryptic message beginning, "the red animal is dead," signed ")x(." " Definitely not a letter from Mom," thinks narrator Victor, whose parents recently split up. His friends are away, and Victor is in for six weeks of summer vacation, cooped up in his Berlin apartment. There seems to be nothing to do but write in the journal his father gave him and try to muster the courage to jump off of the 7.5-meter platform at the community pool. But when his next-door neighbor's dog dies, Victor realizes that it could well be "the red animal" in that creepy letter. He makes a new (female) friend at the pool, and sets out to discover the identity of the anonymous letter-writer, who continues to leave mysterious missives for Victor and his neighbors. As Victor plays detective, he also matures, coming to grips with his parents' situation and learning how to be independent. Quirky details realistically portray the eccentricities of city folks living in close proximity. This novel offers American kids a glimpse into another culture and the things that are universal or unique, between the U.S. and Europe. Ages 12-up.
