Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. All in all, this one was fine. It was one of very few that deal with physical scars and the anxiety and stress that come a long with those scars, but it just moved too slowly for me, or for the student readers I know.

This is definitely an unusual and interesting story. I really felt for Luna and all that she was going through and dealing with. The magical aspect of the story was certainly different. That wasn't my cup of tea but others will likely enjoy that. I did like the end a lot, things improved for Luna and there was definitely hope for better days ahead for Luna and her family. Good read.

This was an okay entry in my furthering quest to read more middle grade. It started very slow and took me a while to get into it, but it brought up some interesting ideas.

It was a cute concept in the flying ship and stars as metaphor category. I also thought it was interesting to see Italian-American rep with part of the magic supposedly based on Italian folklore, although I suspect some of the Italian words are not quite on the money.

The story has disability and disfigurement rep, and while I liked the positive portrayal of therapy, I'm not too sure about the rest of it since it's somewhat outside my experience.

Another thing that bothered me was the main character's parents' (particularly her mother's) lack of respect for her autonomy. This is especially bad during one scene with the grandmother, who forces her way into Luna's room. She says something along the lines of "privacy? You're 12, you don't need privacy."

Overall I think it will appeal to quieter, artsy kids who kind of feel out of place and isolated.

Unpopular review here:

This one was a flop in my eyes. The premise sounded amazing and the book was touted as a fantastical middle grade coming of age story which it did hit upon but again, ultimately, fell flat. I almost put it down and left it on the shelf for good but I felt that I needed to put my heartfelt (yet unpopular) review out there so people who are debating on whether or not to pick up this read could see that it didn't vibe with everyone. There are a bunch of glowing reviews and I respect that but for me, this one was sluggish and a bore. World building was okay and character development was too but it lacked some...Jun use qua to tie everything together into an interesting, cohesive work of art.

Overall:

This is magically unique and has a great premise but ultimately doesn't deliver. It might be a case of "it's not you, it's me" but the tedium and lack of oomph ruined it for me. I didn't care one whit what was going to happen next and not caring for the plot or the characters, as a general rule, is a surefire recipe for a harsh rating. It seems that this is a Love it or Hate it read... and you know where I fell on that scale.

Actual Rating: 1.5 Stars

*** I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ***

Excellent coming of age for a middle grade contemporary with some magical realism elements. If you enjoyed Wonder, then you might enjoy this read. The main character, Luna, has been disfigured in the face after an accident that happened prior to the start of the storyline. We begin the story as she discovers a mysterious, and perhaps magical, family moves into her neighborhood late one night.

Though I thought this book lacked the ability to keep me wanting more of this book, I thought it was a bit of a whimsical story, despite the troubles of the main character.

This was a great story about accepting trials in life. Luna and her father were involved in a car accident just before the start of seventh grade, As a result Luna does not start school at the beginning of the year, but has a classmate bring her work to her each week.. She is afraid to talk to her best friend as she is burnt and her nose is broken, forcing her to wear a compression mask.. The word "ugly" hangs in the air.

During this time of isolation, Luna meets the spacitricci, star sweepers, who clean the moon and stars and keep them shining. They go up in a ship, that resembles a steampunk airship, but shrinks in size to a child's toy. Luna spends a lot of time sitting outside her window watching Alessandro and Chiara when they move into the neighborhood. the real world and magic collide in this story to heal a twelve year old and her family.