Do you know what’s happening today, Taffy?

Of course he did. Taffy always knew. And besides, she’d reminded him of the big news just last night, before she fell asleep. They’d snuggled under the covers together with just a crack open so she could still see the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, and she’d whispered, “Taffy, it’s tomorrow. Tomorrow, Abba’s getting married again.”

When Laylie’s father remarries, she and her older siblings gain more than just a new mother. Abba’s wife Shifra comes along with several children of her own…children who are not very happy about their newly blended family.

Michal, Laylie’s older sister who has mothered her three younger siblings since their mother passed away, is trying valiantly to rise above her pain and make things work. Yet Shifra’s two teenage daughters, Tali and Nina, seem determined to make Michal, and everyone else in the family, miserable and destroy any chance of them ever becoming a real family. Will they come to the realization that they are sabotaging their own chances at happiness, before it’s too late?

A compelling read for teens and young adults, Stargazing explores intricate family and social dynamics. Complex characters grapple with painful emotions, as they confront their difficulties and struggle to rise above them. Woven throughout is the powerful message that just like the stars glow brightest at night, when life is challenging, we have the greatest ability to shine.
By: Rochel Grunewald