A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord (review)

It’s a dog that brings Lily and Salma together: when Lucky, Lily’s ancient blind Labrador retriever, bolts for the road, Salma, one of the migrant workers picking Maine blueberries, lures him to safety with her sandwich. Soon a friendship blossoms between the two twelve-year-olds, and artistic Salma helps Lily decorate crafted bee houses to sell at the blueberry festival in order to raise funds for cataract surgery for Lucky. Salma also decides to enter the Downeast Blueberry Queen pageant, a move that breaks racial barriers but puts Lily, whose best friend is trying for a repeat victory, in an awkward position. Lord writes with a quiet naturalness that allows multiple plot facets to emerge without becoming messagey or heavy-handed. The treatment of Salma’s migrant life is matter-of-fact but direct, and Lily plausibly deals with possibilities of local racism and swells with indignation on behalf of her new friend. Motherless Lily’s occasional longing for a maternal figure (“It made me all messed up inside to have someone treat me like a daughter”) is poignant, and her eventual Salma-encouraged shift in her approach to Lucky fits smoothly with her character growth. It’s the straightforward and unaffected prose (highly suitable for a readaloud as well as reading alone) that really allows Lily’s story to shine, though, and it’s hard to resist joining her on her journey toward greater maturity.