Connect the Stars

Ginger says: One of two middle grade novels that de los Santos wrote with her husband David Teague. This is my favorite of the two, though Saving Lucas Biggs is also wonderful. Thirteen-year old Audrey can tell when people are lying—her friends at school, but also, awkwardly, people like grandmothers. This makes relationships tricky, so she pulls away from others until she meets Aaron at wilderness camp. Aaron has quirks of his own. Perhaps predictably for two outsiders, Audrey and Aaron become friends between hikes and trust exercises. When a fellow camper goes missing, they, along with their other winningly precocious (but not annoying) campmates band together. The poetry tucked in adds warmth and richness, making this a standout in the middle grade genre and in Marisa de los Santos’s oeuvre.