Book Review | Where the Stars Still Shine | Trish Doller

Title: Where the Stars Still Shine
Author: Trish Doller (web | twitter)
Genre: Contemporary YA
Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release date: September 24, 2013
Source: ARC from the publisher via NetGalley (Thanks, Bloomsbury!)

Summary: Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She’s never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love–even with someone who seems an improbable choice–is more than just a possibility.

Trish Doller writes incredibly real teens, and this searing story of love, betrayal, and how not to lose your mind will resonate with readers who want their stories gritty and utterly true.

Being a big fan of Trish Doller‘s debut, SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL, made me instantly eager to read every book she ever releases. It was emotional and real and swoony. WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE continues in that awesome vein she has opened for herself where books are short but full of feelings and a little bit of darkness and some light to balance it all out. Also, THE SWOONS. I very much enjoyed WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE, with it’s memorable characters, sad drama, and real teenage/young person relationships. There were maybe a few things about it that I wished were MORE (I’ll explain), but overall, thumbs up, Trish. I’m so glad you write books.

In WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE, we meet a young girl who lives a hard, troubled life with her mom. Callie and her mom barely stay in one place for very long, and when they are managing to stay put, they eke out a living on the fringes. Callie doesn’t go to school, she doesn’t have any friends, and she kind of bounces around from boy to boy in the way her mom does with men: no emotional attachments, no feelings. Talking about Callie’s father is pretty much off the table. It’s just Callie and her mom against the world. Until one night, as they’re trying to blow out of town fast in the middle of the night, they get caught by police for driving a stolen car, and Callie’s mom is arrested and put in jail. The man who shows up to take Callie home turns out to be her father, and they return to Florida to live with his new family and reclaim some lost time (hopefully). Callie has to get used to this new way of living, new people, and face some harsh truths about her mom. And of course, there’s THE BOY. Alex. Who makes things more complicated and more special at the same time.

Trish Doller‘s books have this really great, bittersweet, subtle tone. Nothing is easy for her characters, or even mostly pleasant, but it’s not like reading her books is a downer. There’s always some little bit of light to balance the achiness. SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL had it, and so does WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE. It goes a long way to packing a bigger emotional wallop.

Being inside Callie’s head and dealing with her feelings is intense. She’s having a lot thrown at her: Her mother is in jail, she’s living and interacting for the first time with her birth father, her big Greek family is welcoming her, she’s making friends, all of a sudden she has a guy who isn’t like any of the others, and she’s learning things about her mom that are upsetting and worrisome. Her perceptions of everything she ever knew when she was living on the road with her mom are changing. It’s a lot for her to get used to, and she sometimes doesn’t do the right things. I sometimes found her frustrating, when she does things out of loyalty to her mom even after she finds out some things. I thought it was a crap way to repay the things her dad was doing for her. But I never misunderstood why she felt such strong ties to her mom.

Speaking of Callie’s mom, one of my biggest…well, it’s not a pet peeve, but more of a “characters I will always dislike forever” thing. Maybe I can give Callie’s mom a teensy pass because she has some other issues going on, but mostly I had a problem with the way she tried to make Callie feel guilty for growing to like living in Florida with her dad. For beginning to enjoy the stability and feel some loyalty to him and to her fledgling new life. It seemed so selfish, her reasons for keeping Callie away for so long, and the way she treated Callie and her things made me ragey. There is a particular instance in WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE with a book that made me REALLY ragey. No thanks, mom. (This is actually really toned down from my reactions to Callie’s mom while I was reading. I was basically shouting.)

The one thing that I LOVED about Callie’s new life–aside from Alex, and I’m saving him for last–was seeing her discover her new family, especially her father. Friends, I am a SUCKER for dad-daughter stories. I want to read them all. But, like, the nice ones. Callie and her dad don’t know much about each other, so it’s walking a tightrope for a little while, feeling each other out. But her dad is actually pretty cool, I thought, and it gave me the warm fuzzies that he was just READY to fold her into his family, which includes a new wife and two small kids. Trish Doller did a super job with their relationship, imperfect but still sweet with a few touching moments to give feels, but never the kind that will give you cavities. Big fan of them. Callie’s parents are night and day, and I most definitely prefer the day.

So. Alex. *swoons* Trish Doller knows how to do relationships. They’re never perfect, but they’re not bogged down in melodrama. It’s all quiet and real, and that makes the feelings more…MORE. Because this could be happening right now somewhere in the world, as opposed to people who fall in insta-love with mysterious strangers or other relationships that are a little twee. Callie doesn’t really know how to be in a real relationship, and Alex is a good teacher. Also he’s hot. Like, Greek god Adonis sponge diver who charms AAAALLLLL the ladies. He might have a bit of a reputation, but CHARMING. He has his own drama going on that took a back seat until the end, but I loved the way that the time they spent together was doing normal stuff. Like eating Chinese take-out and watching movies.

Overall, I really, REALLY enjoyed WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE, and it cemented Trish Doller on my must-read author list. There were some things at the end that I felt could’ve had more to them, and a character that shows up randomly, briefly, but kind of importantly, that seemed a little…umm…random. But if you, like me, were a big fan of SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL, WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE will fill a void that only Trish Doller can fill.

Check out some other reviews of Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller!

Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books: “The whole novel really transports the reader into Callie’s life, allowing us to feel like we’re experiencing everything alongside her.”

Maggie @ Just A Couple More Pages: “Trish Doller is an amazing story teller and she will remain on my must-read list, despite the fact that I had some issues with this one.”