**spoiler alert** I found this story generally well written and engaging. The only thing that spoiled it for me was the inclusion of sex and profanity.
For the most part, I was interested in Callie's story and seeing how it turned out. Callie, who has been living with her mother for years under the mistaken belief that they had no one else, discovers that her mother kidnapped her years before, taking her away from her loving father and his large Greek family. When the police catch up to them, Callie is understandably cautious with her remarried father’s new family at first, but goes on a voyage of discovery, both for herself and her mother (who is diagnosed with a personality disorder).
These issues are dealt with sensitively by the author and in what I felt was a realistic way. While I grew frustrated with things like Callie's constant defending of her mother by lying and covering up for her, I felt that it was likely she would have responded that way, given that it had only been the two of them for so long.
The only thing that spoiled it for me was the profanity and sex. Again, I understand why Callie would think that every guy wants sex, given her mother's behaviour, and that she definitely would be the type who'd seen that kind of action, but I was disappointed that her serious love interest in the story was the kind of man who'd sleep with a girl at first sight (as he does with Callie) without even knowing who she is. This, and a couple of other scenes paint him as a player, and yet it seems we're meant to believe in the reality of their love. I found it difficult to swallow and didn't like Alex at all. I preferred the scenes when he wasn't around. Even the situation with his mother didn't gain him much sympathy from me although I was pleased that plotline was resolved the way it was.

From Goodreads: Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She's never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love--even with someone who seems an improbable choice--is more than just a possibility.

This was my second novel by Trish Doller and I enjoy her books, although I probably will never find myself seeking out her back cataloge and stick to getting her books on a more impulsive level. 

This was a smooth, easy read with characters that I felt I could relate to. As Callie’s life changed before my eyes, it was like a door opening up for her.   This door of opportunity had everything Callie hoped and dreamed for but in the back of Callie’s mind, she was waiting for a trap door to open and take her away. Callie lived in self-preservation mood and she should, considering the life that she led with her mother and the horrible encounters with Frank. It would be so hard to change your way of thinking when suddenly you are now able to depend on someone to lead you, support you and to catch you should you need it. Callie no longer needed to be self-supporting, yet to give this up, would mean attaching herself to others. We all build walls of some type and Callie had a lot of walls built. To break those walls would take some determination, some patience and some love. Callie learned a lot of things on her own as she adjusted to her new life and tried to change, and I liked that she didn’t have the attitude as she transitioned into her new role. She was a doer, even if some of her actions caused her to be irrational. I felt she needed to take these steps as it made her take charge of her own life and be accountable for her actions. A good example of this is the male relationships that Callie had in the book. While others had opinions of the guys she was hanging out with, Callie decided on her own what to do. She was hesitate at first on how to approach this difference of opinion and I wondered myself if this really had to do with her lack of experience with guys and friends in general and not just how other people were reacting to this situation. This was like a new world to Callie and she just needed to have time to adjust, to figure things out for herself and she needed the support of people who love her.

Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She's never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love--even with someone who seems an improbable choice--is more than just a possibility. (from GR)

-- You have to have an open mind to read this book because it will be not easy to understand very difficult built-up of characters. The MC is not a typical flower-and-bubbles girl who have a crush to a diver. She is the character who were molested, have shallow opinion of sex and do it anyways, kidnapped by a mother with a borderline personality disorder, doesn't know how to keep a friend and new family of her dad. Pretty much it.. but many more(spoiled some but you've been warned).

Readers have both opposite opinions about this book. Usually because of the MC. Either they pity her or call her a slut. Some readers really can't empathize with her.

You'll have to see it for yourself. 

What I really have to say is..very weird-y of me.. is not the main character. I can pretty much accept her and somehow willing to let her narrate her story. But at the same time, I know how readers are coming from. But If they have issues about the girl, I have issues of the boy, Alex. And not only because..

[spoiler]

[/spoiler] they weren't that clear in the end, but because he's not much caring for the girl.. i suppose. During the story, he was narrated as a boy who does work for his family, but deep inside, how his views in romantic love and his relationships was a blur. And maybe that's why, at the end they weren't together. I mean, they pretty much both have problems in their own, in themselves, and the future made them apart.

If I were to give an Epilogue, as much as I wanted them to be together, I'd separate them mainly because the boy doesn't have the guts to say that they are together when they went snorkeling or the one when they met the boys' friend. He's much more focused on himself.

I've met certain book boys like these, and some were worth fighting and swooning for, but some.. they were made to look like they were cool and easy-going.. but they were the guys who can't put up with the girl if the crisis exist.

Well, it's just for me but.. hope you got it.

Anyways, there are so many things going on. That's why I tensed up to some, to some.. it didn't shocked me. If it were focused more on the 'mother' problems, things might be more tragic and suspenseful and then the boy just be on the side comforting or something(they aren't even going to be together anyways!- and almost the focused in some pages are her sex experiences?!--really!?!). It's one thing to put up a messed-up girl and another for her really connect with different complex problems and I just discovered that it's so hard to put it in a book that people will appreciate.  I don' t know.. I'm not the author tho. (lol)

Another thing is.. it ended pretty OPEN. It's what you gonna get so accept the book.(I'm still telling myself--not to tell myself 'that's it?Done?The End?)')

My high ratings was because of the clear and visible writing of events and places. The name( I forgot) and the place of the small town in Florida is real and it was stated in the end by the author so maybe that's why I had really good visual.

To conclude this not so famous review, keep an open mind and if ever you felt nothing after reading this, it's ok.

Book quote:

”All week I’ve wanted just three things: hot wings, cold beer, and you.”

--

this girl reading

A copy of this novel was provided by Bloomsbury Australia in exchange an honest review.

Trish Doller is fast becoming my go-to author when I am in need of a heartbreakingly fantastic contemporary young adult novel. When I read her first novel, Something Like Normal, it inspired a new love and appreciation for a story that can be told of people living in the now, in the real world, and coping with issues that are relevant to many readers. Which is why I knew that I had to read Where the Stars Still Shine. And it did not disappoint.

Doller has this amazing ability to create these absolutely tortured characters that have not let their experiences take away who they are. In Where the Stars Still Shine, we have Callie. Callie was kidnapped by her mother at age five, and has been practically homeless for the last twelve years. When her mother is arrested, and she goes to live with her father, she is privy to the world and the life she might have had.

Callie is really quite broken. She’s never really had a family (except for her mother), or friends. She’s never been schooled, and her childhood is filled with horrors that no child should ever have to face. But she’s not cruel or hard because of it. Yes, she isn’t particularly savvy at how to act around her new family and friends, or how to approach a nice boy who wants to date her. But that’s more than understandable. She didn’t grow up in a lovely community. She didn’t get to grow up at all – maturity was thrust upon her against her will.

Through the confusion of finding herself in a completely different life than the one she has known, Callie finds Alex.

Alex. Perfect Alex. There are scenes in this book, where Callie asks Alex not to do a certain thing, or to do another thing, and from the outside – they’re kind of weird requests. But Alex accepts Callie’s boundaries. No questions, no pushing. And this kind of acceptance is amazing. Alex is amazing. And exactly what Callie needed. She needed to know that boys could want her for something other than her body, and that there are boys who won’t just take but will also give, as well. She needed to know that there are good guys out there, as well as bad. And Alex teaches her this, and with all the tenderness and beauty one can imagine. For the first time, I didn’t find myself wanting an Alex for myself because Alex is Callie’s. Callie needs Alex more than anyone else, and I could never want for them to be apart.

I think the most heartbreaking aspect of Where the Stars Still Shine is the decisions that Callie has to face. Yes, her mother was not the best parent in the world, but she was the only one Callie has ever had. And you cannot just forget twelve years with someone, no matter what transpired. But Callie also wants this new life with her dad, and her little brothers, and her grandmother. She wants a chance at being something more than a runaway; a kidnapped child. But to do that, she has to leave her mother behind, and she’s not sure if she’s ready to betray her mum like that. And it’s heartbreaking. Because I wanted Callie to have this new life of hers, and be with Alex and work at the gorgeous bookstore, but I also knew that she would never be happy if her mother truly thought that Callie had betrayed her. So even though I wanted her to be happy, and leave the horrible parts of her life behind, I didn’t want her to have to deal with the repercussions of choosing that life. And that was heartbreaking.

I think that Doller is the queen on contemporary YA novels that really reach into your heart and really delve into issues that other books may not want to expose. She’s absolutely amazing, and I know that her novels will be ones that will be talked about in years to come. When I read them, they’re not targeted at 2013 or 2014. I think you could place these characters in whatever time you wanted, and that’s a true art right there. To have a book that can last through the ages, and that will be able to touch the hearts of readers not only now, but into the future, as well.

© 2014, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.