The Moon Without Stars

A seventh grader jeopardizes everything she likes about herself for a chance at popularity in this sensitive novel by Miller (Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All). Luna believes in “language as a balm for emotional wounds” and frequently lends her classmates books that she believes will help alleviate issues with pet loss, irrational fear, self-image, and more. When a teacher demonstrates how to make a zine, Luna teams up with her best friend Scott to create her own “literary prescriptions.” Following the zine’s success, the “genetically blessed” popular girls of Luna’s Bay Area school invite Luna to join their ranks. Though it means growing apart from Scott, Luna—tired of classmates viewing her as “Calm as water on a lake. Tasteless as a wafer. Quiet as a moth”—accepts their offer. But when the girls begin creating zines to criticize others, Luna risks losing the thing that allowed her to support those in need. Subtle, original, and lightly suspenseful, Luna’s journey toward learning to balance the complex ins and outs of social interaction with her own desires will resonate with those seeking community and understanding. Luna is half Chinese and half white; Scott reads as white. Ages 10–up. Agent: Philippa Brophy, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Jan.)