People Like Stars – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: family, secrets, friendship, desperation, compassion.
Children’s book title: People Like Stars.
Children’s author: Patrice Lawrence.
Genre: Children’s fiction.
Published by: Scholastic.
ISBN: 9780702315640.
Recommended for children aged: 10+ year-olds.
First published: Paperback January 2025.
This children’s book is ideal for: confident readers in the suggested age range who enjoy character-led fiction, and for whole-class reading when discussing family and how its meaning differs for everyone.
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Our review:
When Ayrton was a tiny baby, something terrible happened. His mum stepped away from him in a shop to answer her phone, and someone took him! His mum has never got over it, and because of that, neither has Ayrton. Now they’re back in the town where everything happened, and the pressure on them both is growing day by day.
Stanley is a twin; his brother Oliver is very annoying and won’t agree with him about their mum’s reaction to the FG. Mentioning the Forgotten Grandma isn’t allowed, but Stanley’s been discussing DNA in Religious Studies and wants to know more about her. So far, what he does know isn’t good, but everyone deserves a second chance, right?
Senna hates her new school; it’s so strict, and she’s spending far too many days in isolation, but home isn’t much better! Her mum is housekeeper to a reclusive artist known as Vixen, whom they’re absolutely not allowed to speak about – such as who she really is. They’re also forbidden from speaking to her or getting in her way. If they do, they’ll be out on the street again!
When Ayrton gets his mum’s permission to go to school on the bus as a 13th birthday gift, he has no idea what he’s about to set in motion. Two boys are arguing, which is so not his business, but then they mention how their grandma stole a baby! He actually makes friends with one of them, and they begin hunting for information on what happened thirteen years earlier. Once they find out, surely they can get Ayrton some freedom and Stanley his grandma back.
Sen has broken all the rules! She had a conversation with Vixen, and the artist was really nice. She even wants her to be her muse! Sen’s sure it’s all going to go terribly wrong, so she’s horrified when a boy confronts her and tells her he knows exactly who Vixen is and what she’s done! When Ayrton decides he needs to take action and tell everyone what Vixen did, how will it affect the three teens as they deal with their own problems and those of the other people involved in the decade-old mystery?
Our verdict:
This is a wonderful book, told from three different points of view. It has fast-moving, intertwined storylines, where strong emotions and childhood responsibilities are beautifully drawn, and the pressures each of them faces never once feel contrived or exaggerated. Showing how one secret, which connects them all, has resulted in the differing consequences they have experienced, the storyline covers a multitude of ways family secrets cause other problems and worries. Covering subjects such as homelessness, postnatal depression, and the difficulties of accepting the actions of others, it also shows how the passing of time makes any type of resolution less likely.
It reminds us how everyone you meet has a backstory, with worries, problems, or heartaches that affect them every day of their seemingly uneventful lives. In Ayrton and his mum’s case, they have suffered every day because of the inexplicable actions of Stanley’s grandma. He has no freedom, no self-esteem, friends aren’t encouraged, and his mum panics if she can’t see him.
Stanley, on the other hand, looks like he has a handle on life. His parents run marathons, his twin brother wins academic prizes, and he’s a whizz at football, but his life feels incomplete. When Ayrton cautiously introduces himself, Stanley’s goal becomes reuniting his family, even though Oliver says that’s a really bad idea!
Sen is fed up with living on other people’s sofas and out of a suitcase. When her mum gets a job that comes with accommodation, there’s no way either of them is going to muck it up! But a secret as big as Vixen’s is bound to be revealed eventually, and even though none of it was Senna’s fault, her mum Ari and Sen herself both know their good life is likely to be over before it’s hardly even begun.
Teaching points and book club discussion ideas:
- Secrets are simple, aren’t they? Just don’t tell, and everything will be fine, won’t it? But when it’s as big as the ones being kept in this book, was it ever possible for it all to turn out well?
- Ayrton is 13. When he was little, he would have done what his mum said without much argument, but now things are different. What would he want to change about his life and his mum’s now he’s older?
- We all experienced lockdown – weeks on end when we couldn’t see other family or friends. Ayrton probably wouldn’t have noticed too much difference! What was the best thing about the end of lockdown? Do you think it feels similar to that for Ayrton at the end of the book?
- There were lies and half-truths told throughout this story. How different do you think things would have been for everyone if they’d told the truth from the start?
- For Ayrton, Stanley, and Sen, things have changed for the better. Do you think their parents have had their lives improved as well? If so, is it in the same way, or will being adults mean they will see it all differently?
Many thanks to Scholastic for the review copy.
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