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A review by libby_gt
The Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Raúf
5.0
This book was truly one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever read - but it was wonderful at the same time. As in her more well-known novel "The Boy at the Back of the Class", Rauf has an amazing skill for imparting difficult topics through a child's eyes.
The story is told from the perspective of ten-year-old Aniyah, who has recently been put into foster care with her brother Noah. When she sees a news item about an unusual star spotted by astronomers, she believes this star is their mother watching over them, and sets out to make sure the star is identified as such by the scientists at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. She is very determined, and - with the help of Ben and Travis, her new foster "brothers" - embarks on an epic race to London from a village in Oxfordshire to do so.
I found the last couple of chapters to be particularly emotional. Though what has happened with Aniyah's parents can be inferred by adult readers fairly early on, it is only as the novel ends that her innocent perspective begins to falter. Though I would be mindful of recommending this book to certain children due to the subject matter (namely domestic abuse and parental bereavement), I found it to be an extremely valuable, insightful and thought-provoking text.
The story is told from the perspective of ten-year-old Aniyah, who has recently been put into foster care with her brother Noah. When she sees a news item about an unusual star spotted by astronomers, she believes this star is their mother watching over them, and sets out to make sure the star is identified as such by the scientists at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. She is very determined, and - with the help of Ben and Travis, her new foster "brothers" - embarks on an epic race to London from a village in Oxfordshire to do so.
I found the last couple of chapters to be particularly emotional. Though what has happened with Aniyah's parents can be inferred by adult readers fairly early on, it is only as the novel ends that her innocent perspective begins to falter. Though I would be mindful of recommending this book to certain children due to the subject matter (namely domestic abuse and parental bereavement), I found it to be an extremely valuable, insightful and thought-provoking text.