Stargazing by Jen Wang

 
Stargazing by Jen Wang
My Rating: ★★★★★

When Christine’s parents decide to rent a place out to the sweet lady who works at the nursery, she gains a new friend and neighbor: Moon. Christine has heard all kinds of rumors about Moon, mainly that she beats people up, but quickly learns that Moon is nothing like the rumors. If anything, Moon is kind, confident, and super artistic! The two become fast friends and Christine soon realizes that she’s jealous of her new best friend right as tragedy strikes. Will Christine be able to see past her jealousy and be the friend she needs to be when Moon needs her the most?

I’ve been meaning to pick up this book ever since I read one of Jen Wang’s other books, The Prince and the Dressmaker. While this is obviously a very different story, Jen brought everything from family woes to friendship woes to the plate. They also very subtly brought in how it feels to be a biracial or Asian-American kid and feel like you’re not enough due to being biracial and/or American whether at home or among your own peers.

One of the things I really liked about this book as well is that we watch Christine slowly struggle with her jealousy toward Moon. It’s natural for people to be jealous at some point or another, but what’s important is that we work through it and apologize if any shenanigans were pulled along the way. In a perfect world, things would always work themselves out, but I think that most people the age of the characters don’t necessarily realize what they’re feeling is jealousy. It’s one of the reasons I really like that this was the route the story took regarding their friendship. Maybe some younger readers experiencing jealousy who are trying to sabotage a friend to preserve their friendship will learn something from the messages shared in the book.

As always, the artwork is absolutely stunning and really helps tell the story. I also really like that the messages on family, friendship, and figuring yourself out and believing in yourself are so powerful for all readers. The story is aimed at kids around middle school age, but I think that it’s a great read for people of all ages and a family read for the younger crowd.