See You On a Starry Night

Juliet loves books, Van Gogh, and lists. She does not like divorce, moving, and new towns. She, her mother, and her sister have moved to their grandparent’s beach house in the middle of the school year due to her parents’ separation. Her mom and sister leave her alone most days, busy setting up their new lives. When she meets Emma, Juliet sees what she is missing in Emma’s big, intact family and large group of friends. She and Emma write notes they tie up, put in a bottle, then throw out into the ocean. Juliet receives a reply, challenging her to fill a wish, anonymously, so she and Emma set out to find a wish to fill, but that is more difficult than they expected.

This book is adorable. Juliet is as loveable and sweet as she is feisty and fiery. She is like most almost-teens – throwing fits, crying out her sadness, changing emotions in a blink. The book is about patience, tolerance, love, and understanding, for others and for herself, as she navigates her new post-divorce world so far from everything she knows and loves. Her lists both close a chapter and open the next one. This one is a keeper.