Starglass by Phoebe North

Since trilogies are all the rage, I am sure that there will be a sequel, but did it really have to end that way? With all the available endings out there, you would think Phoebe North would have compassion on us readers. But, no - she unashamedly leaves you in the biggest lurch and quite possibly not produce another offering for 365 days. Of course, since the days are longer on board the spaceship, time gets a little confusing. So I am going with the solid 365 of waiting to see what happens.

The world building was very thorough in this book. The Jewish heritage mingled in the story added a depth of richness and heritage. As you think of all the Jewish people have been through - the diaspora, the Holocaust, the pogroms, the endless years of antisemitism - you gain an admiration of their endurance and their will to live. This shows very strongly in the characters. You admire these people who have been on a ship as long as the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. They probably would have a kindred connection (had they kept up with the complete history of their ancestors) to those who had come before them as they longed for a real place to call home.

We are fascinated with the future as a society. We long to be able to know that in the future things will get better. The Jews who had been dispersed from Israel had a saying - Next year in Jerusalem - to signify their hope that the next time they celebrated a holiday it would be in a better place - home. I think we look for reassurance that next year will be better - a world without war, famine, or disease like cancer. This book did a great job of dealing with our human frailties and takes an exceptional look at the loss of loved ones. Grief is treated with a serious brush stroke. So many stories in children's fiction have orphans. Just think of some of your favorite fairy tales - chances are the protagonist has experienced the loss of one or both of their parents. The same holds true for the stories that are being churned out today. North does a fantastic job of showing the loss of a parent and the impact it can have on a child.

There were only a couple of things that kept it from being a 5 star book. The first is the resemblances to books that have similar elements such as The Giver by Lois Lowry and Across the Universe by Beth Revis. The idea that the governing bodies decide which job you are assigned and that a batch of babies grow together and get their assignments on a special day really reminded me of The Giver. Besides being set in a spaceship, it was similar to Across the Universe in other ways. A young girl who knows nothing must unravel where her loyalties lie as she is romantically pursued by the second in command. Having made that comparison, I would like to say that Starglass has more substance than Across the Universe. I feel you could use Starglass in a book club setting and have numerous themes to discuss. I felt Across the Universe was an entertaining read, but not very deep. Second, I felt that the message about acceptance for all and liberty to love whomever you want to love was a little heavy handed. It is an important topic, and we certainly need books that open the dialogue with our children about this. I just felt a lighter touch would not have been amiss. In all other aspects this was a top notch novel. It had great pacing, good solid writing and an intricate and intriguing plot. I truly look forward to the next one as I thought the last 25% of the book was definitely 5 stars.

There was a little kissing, but there was violence and death although it was not gory or explicit.  Starglass releases on July 23, 2013.  I would recommend to fans of Across the Universe or any other sci-fi romance.