Such a beautiful tale of found family. The worldbuilding is amazing. The characters are so wonderful and I just want to hug all of them. Perfect for fans of magical quests.

While this book was not for me, I can understand why so many other reviewers like it. This is an original fantasy novel for children that, while drawing on traditional tropes, manages to feel fresh and unique. The pacing is mostly solid and while the solutions to all of the clues and central mysteries are obvious, I could easily see a child not figuring them out along with the protagonists (which, fortunately, they do rather quickly every time). For me the pleasure of the book was entirely robbed by the virtually unending cruelty of nearly every adult in the book. This aspect of the story rapidly went from unbelievable to simply upsetting and I found myself skimming large sections of the text simply to avoid pages upon pages of adults blaming children for things that are not their fault and seeking to murder and dismember them in an effort to appease their apparently endless fears.

THE BOY, THE WOLF, AND THE STARS is a perfectly magic, poignantly heartwarming, powerfully inspiring story about Bo, a boy whose mother abandoned him long ago who is now on a mission to save his community. All of the stars in the sky have been swallowed by a wolf, and Bo and his friends new and old set off on an adventure to release the stars and set the world right again.

There are witches, magical creatures, and messages about trusting yourself, the chosen family with whom we surround ourselves, and the importance and power of friendships. Plozza does a fantastically efficient and effective job world-building so we remain in the story and invested but also get a good sense of the characters, their environments, and their back stories. It helped me feel connected to the story and Bo and his comrades throughout the book.

I also loved the way the magic was so engrained in the world of Ulv that seeing it occur didn’t feel like it was overthought or contrived; it was a lovely balance of realistic experiences interspersed with magical ones. The magic felt believable even for my adult lens, and that’s remarkable!

I think this is a boon that middle-grade and YA readers will just devour. I also greatly appreciated that the wolves were not just vilified needlessly; that’s a hot-button issue for me based on what’s happening in the world, and too often children’s media shows wolves in a horribly violent light. The Boy, the Wolf, and the Stars was not reckless in its portrayal of wolves, and instead showed the pain and trauma of what they had been through as a way of increasing the reader’s compassion for them. This is a technique that’s being used more and more in children's lit and I am all the way here for it.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough! It’s creative, relatable, and fast-paced enough to keep younger readers engrossed. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading THE BOY, THE WOLF, AND THE STARS.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this NetGalley copy. I loved the fantasy of this book. The story was a great read for students who have finished--and enjoyed--The Girl Who Drank the Moon. I will buy this book for my library, and promote it among my library colleagues and parents who are looking for titles to purchase for their children. I love the art on the cover. It will make it all the easier for me to promote this book.

The cover and blurb definitely drew me in for this one. I hadn't read read The Girl Who Drank the Moon or Nevermoor before requesting this so I didn't have much to go on. I will say that before starting this I did try to read The Girl Who Drank the Moon and I did dnf it so I was wary about starting this one because of that.

The layout is quite similar to The Girl Who Drank the Moon because before chapters there is a page or two about the history of the myths. I always find parts like that interesting so I did enjoy those pages.

Bo had best friend who was a fox named Nix. I mean, who doesn't love foxes? I wish I had a best friend that was a fox. He hasn't had the best childhood at it shows. He does have quite the development and I was happy to see that. The thing is, I never connected with him or the other characters in this book. I wasn't super intrigued by them or their quest. Don't get me wrong, they are great characters and I can see this being a very enjoyable read for the intended audience.

I would say that the plot is cool and I did like aspects of it. The ending wrapped up nicely which is good to see in a standalone. I also didn't have an issue with pacing.

Overall, I can see this book doing really well. I definitely would have liked it more if I had made a connection but that's really my only problem with it.