The Star Outside My Window

YA fiction 

     "I never knew what a foster mum was until two nights ago.  I had a real mum until then, so I guess I never needed to know.  But when Mum left, two policemen and a tall woman in a black suit came and said we had to go to a foster home so we could meet our new foster mum."

     Aniyah (10), protagonist of Onjali Q. Rauf's The Star Outside My Window, and her little brother, Noah, who is only five, have had their world turned upside down.  The new, very strange place they find themselves in feels tenuous to Aniyah.  One serious misstep could have her and Noah separated.  But she believes that the people with the brightest hearts become stars.  It's only a matter of locating her mom among the constellations.

     One day Aniyah learns of a new star that has defied the laws of physics to come close to Earth.  There's a contest to name it.  Aniyah is sure it's her mom.  But how can she make sure it will get the right name when the name will be picked by computer and tens of thousands of people are entering?  

     How about a perilous journey undertaken by a motley crew of foster siblings?

     Many of the characters in the book have been victims of domestic violence.  Rauf, herself, lost a dear family member, her Aunt Ruma, to it.

     "She was just twenty-nine at the time.  It is with my aunt and the injustices she faced in her lifetime that this book was written."

On a purrrsonal note, I don't feel like Aniyah is far off in her belief.  When Eugene and I buried precious Joey cat after 16 years of love and loyalty I was heartbroken.  But the next year when I visited his grave it felt different, like the essentialness of Joey was gone.  I have no idea what happens--heaven, reincarnation, or something we can't imagine.  But I am convinced that the soul doesn't perish.

A great big shout out goes out to all who believe in the immortality of the soul.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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