Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I could so relate to this story, tho' I am far from being it's audience. I think kids who enjoy a bit of magic in their fiction will enjoy this story. Kids who's careers cause them to travel or change residences frequently will relate to Ivy. Anyone with siblings, living in tight quarters will also sympathize with Ivy. Kids 5th to 8th grade are going to enjoy this story. Love the idea of a fallen star as a mom or aunt having the magic to repair the world!

I've been a fan of Baldwin since "Where the Watermelon Grow." I will tell anyone and everyone who amazing her books are for the middle-grade audience. She is masterful in writing about complex family dynamics, and situations that while complicated, are so real for youth today.

The Stars on Whistling Ridge brings in what she does so well, and adds in magical surrealism. Ivy Mae Bloom is a 13-year-old girl who calls an RV home. She travels the country with her mother whose goal is to help people by granting their wishes. Her own wish is simple, that she can find a place to really call home.

While not my favorite of Baldwin's books she once again shared a story that anyone can appreciate. It helps if you like magical surrealism (which isn't my genre of choice.) I appreciated the dynamic between the characters; Ivy and her sisters, the pets, the aunts. Even the minor cast had an important role in the story and I appreciated meeting them all. There are lessons buried in the story.

Thank you to @netgalley for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend.. and in the meantime, be careful what you wish for!

This book was just so beautiful and bittersweet. It was really interesting to watch this family grow and interact with each other. I think kids looking for just a bit of fantasy will enjoy this tale.

It's kind of hard to hug an audiobook, but I wanted to when I finished this book. It is full of southern charm, magical realism, and a splash of a mystery. Thirteen-year-old Ivy Mae lives in an RV with her two little sisters and parents. They travel the country so her mama, who is a fallen star in human form, can tend to the magic that is woven throughout our world. But Ivy just wants a home in one place with real friends. So when she steals all the wishes in her Mama's supply to wish for just that, they end up with her mom's sister (and fellow fallen star) in Whistling Ridge, North Carolina to deal with the fallout of that wish. Once there, they realize the town is leeching magic and the star sisters are unsure how to stop it. Meanwhile Ivy is trying to give herself roots in this place while investigating a legendary, mysterious love story that defines the town. Celebrating the growing pains of siblings, the ordinary magic of libraries, the feeling of home, the journey of friendship, and responsibility of using your natural giftings, this book is a middle grade marvel that will appeal to so many readers.

Content Warning: Death, Grief

Middle grade fiction is carving out a solid space for magical realism and this is a decent example of the type. While it is set in the real world and largely follows the rules of our world, there is also magic. Magic which follows rules but is also a bit inexplicable. We're dealing here largely with wishes. But making a wish isn't as simple as wanting something. Wishes have consequences. It is in these consequences that we find the major conflict of the plot. We are looking at wishing gone awry, the poisonous nature of selfishness and resentment. Baldwin is also taking a look at how stories change over time, influenced by perspective and natural prejudice. Over all, a pretty cool read.

Did you ever wonder about the things in your life you can’t quite explain? We owe that magic to fallen stars. Ivy’s mama and her two sisters are some of those stars. It is their duty to care for the magic in the world and to make certain it doesn’t become unruly. Without them, the magic in our lives would disappear. To make certain this doesn’t happen, Ivy, her two sisters and her mom and dad travel from place to place in an old Winnebago to wherever her mama is most needed. Ivy’s always accepted their vagabond life, but now that she is twelve, she realizes she doesn’t want to travel the country anymore. Instead, she dreams of having a forever home, a pet, and friends. And though she knows the unbreakable three rules about wishes, especially “rule 2: never use more than one wish at a time, because wishes are unpredictable when combined, Ivy has a plan. She took Mama’s nine remaining wishes and wished “I wish to have a forever home, I wish to find my One True Place.” And the disasters began.

This realistic fiction MG story is rich in description and magic as it shares the importance of family, the realities of asthma, friendships and growing pains. I completely understood Ivy’s yearning to stay in one place and have a forever home. I was taken back to age thirteen when friendships were a priority and the worst thing I could imagine was moving. I felt her conflicting feelings about her family’s mission and her desperation to become more of a “normal” family as she realized the true meaning of home. It’s one for grades 3+ and is available now.

The Stars of Whistling Ridge is a lovely middle grade novel featuring elements of magical realism.
13 year old Ivy Mae Bloom travels with her family across the country in an RV, so that her mom, a fallen star with magical abilities can fulfill peoples wishes. In this quest for the greater good Ivy Mae feels like her own happiness, hopes and wishes are not getting the consideration they should. So she steals her mother's jar of wishes and makes one of her own: She wants nothing more than to have a "real home". She finally wants to settle down in a place for good, a place to call hers!
On a very personal level I actually deeply relate to Ivy Mae, as I too grew up in an RV, traveling from place to place due to my parents' job. Often times I wanted nothing more than to settle down, stay in one place long enough to make friends, have roots and predictability.
But eventually I learned that "home is where the heart is" and to "bloom where you're planted" and even to "be careful what you wish for" because it might not always be what you expected it to.
Will Ivy Mae learn that same lesson in the rather hefty (for a middle grade title) 400 page book?
Read and find out!

I love this new book by Cindy Baldwin! She captures perfectly the pre-teen angst of wanting independence from the people you love most, wishing for something so much you nearly lose everything else that matters. Ivy Mae Bloom wants more than anything fir her family to settle down in a forever home, even though she knows it’s her mother’s responsibility as a fallen star-woman to travel the country repairing magic and bartering wishes. When Ivy steals wishes for herself, she sets off a chain of events that could be catastrophic - will it be worth it if she can finally have a home of her own?
I love the magic in this story almost as much as the characters! Whistling Ridge sounds like paradise to me, and I loved the people there! Ivy’s conflict with her youngest sister felt so relatable and will resonate with many young readers. Ivy is flawed, which makes her even more real and endearing. No spoilers, but just let me say - there is a scene that pays homage to a favorite classic book- and honestly, helped me to finally process a grudge I’ve held against a fictional character almost my whole life!
A beautifully written story that is a definite order for my library! I can’t wait to share it with kid readers!
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC.

This was a very sweet middle grade magical realism book. I loved the blend of magic and science, as well as the look at family relationships (especially sisters). Ivy's mother is a fallen star, and her whole family travels around the country so that her mom can tend to the magic of the world. While most of the family seems content with this lifestyle, Ivy wishes more than anything that she could have a permanent home, in one place. Stealing her mother's wishes one night, Ivy sets off a chain of events that land the Bloom family in Whistling Ridge, where something is very wrong with the magic. I loved Ivy's flawed character, and the host of other characters who love her through her tough times.

This story will win the hearts of readers for its themes of magic, family, and the meaning of home. I was completely hooked by the premise of this story as it follows Ivy and her family who live in an RV. Ivy has never had a permanent home because her mom is actual a fallen star who travels to tend to the magic here on Earth and assist those in need with their wishes. Absolute chaos takes over Whistling Ridge, North Carolina where Ivy’s aunt lives. She is also a fallen star and she is becoming sick and magic isn’t only draining out of her but out of Whistling Ridge too. Ivy helps investigate what’s happening while also planning a way to get her family to plant roots in Whistling Ridge so she can make this place her home–a real home. This realistic fiction story with a touch of magical elements was so beautifully written and made me think of many other magical titles like Quintessence by Jess Redman and The Forest of Stars by Heather Kassner. Other titles that I would compare this book to are What Stars Are Made of by Sarah Allen for the love of research and learning and of course, The Rule of Threes by Marcy Campbell as the rule of threes was very important to Ivy from the beginning to the end of the story.

Be careful what you wish for, Ivy Mae Bloom. Ivy travels around the country in an RV with her travel writer dad, her star magic mother, and her two sisters -- Elena and Sophie. As she nears her 13th birthday, Ivy decides she is tired of travelling and makes a big wish for home and all the things that go along with it in her dreams. A chain of events begins immediately sending the family Whistling Ridge. Could it be that Ivy's dreams are coming true already? If so, why are there so many strange things happening? Why does getting what she wanted seem to be hurting the people around her? Ivy loves things that come in threes. So, here are three things I liked about this book: 1) The Bloom family sticks together and forgives each other. 2) The Lydia Lovelace legend and the ways it wove in and out of the narrative. 3) Cats named Coffee and Cream. I was really looking forward to this one as I so loved "Where the Watermelons Grow." I do not feel that his title is quite as strong as the previous by Baldwin, but will still be wonderful summer read.

Thank you to Harper Collins (Quill Tree Books) and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy Mae Bloom knows that her mother is a special woman whose gifts require that the family - which includes Ivy, her two sisters and her journalist father - live the vagabond lifestyle, going from town to town, using the magic of fallen stars to grant wishes to desperate people. Ivy's mother ~ along with her own two sisters ~ is a fallen star woman herself, and her own innate abilities come from the celestial bodies. But Ivy has a wish too, to stop moving around and settle in one spot so she can finally have a forever home. After Ivy steals her mother's jar of wishes, she uses every single one to wish for just that. But wishes are not to be used lightly, and the result of Ivy's wish is that the family finds themselves stuck in Whistling Ridge, where Ivy's Aunt Agatha lives. On the surface, Whistling Ridge seems like an idyllic spot to have a forever home, but some dark magic lurks beneath the surface of the town, sapping the positive magic from everything and everyone. While the three adult sisters join together to try and uncover what is consuming all the good in the town, Ivy begins an investigation of her own into one of the town's earlier residents, a woman whose heartache, coupled with her own fallen star powers, has inadvertently unleashed a tragedy that will continue to blacken the town unless Ivy and her family find a way to reverse it.

This middle grades selection is part magical realism, part mystery, part coming of age, and all heart. Ivy's family lives on the road, but even though she loves her family, she longs to put down roots in one place she can call home. In a rash move, Ivy makes a dangerous choice to wish for a home. Form that point forward, her world shifts. Suddenly, her mom is called to help her sister, Ivy's aunt. The family is forced to stay in one place for an extended period of time to help save the town from whatever mysterious force is draining it of magic. Ivy is torn between wanting to help save the town and wanting to avoid getting back on the road after the magic is preserved. Ivy is a lively character that will stay with you beyond these pages.

Cindy Baldwin has yet again woven a beautiful story. Ivy is tired of roaming around in her family's RV. She wants a forever home. However, her mom is a fallen star who travels around granting wishes, keeping magic alive. One night, a frustrated Ivy makes her own wish, and that wish goes awry. Her family is stranded at her aunt's home and they discover that something is going terribly wrong with the magic is Whistling Ridge. Will Ivy's mother and her sisters, two more fallen stars, be able to repair the magic? Will Ivy find a forever home? Find out in this lyrical story of magic and home.

THIS COVER!! It is gorgeous. The story contained within is full of magical realism, family and growth. I think this is a story that adults and children will both equally enjoy!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

I read this one with my twins (who are just a few years younger than the novel's main character, Ivy) and we enjoyed the ending and the way the mystery of Lydia Lovelace wove through Ivy's contemporary story. I had a hard time liking Ivy for about the first 80% of the book, but in the end, Ivy learned some important lessons and made some important mindset changes. As always, Cindy Baldwin's prose was rich and lovely. And that cover--so gorgeous. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the review copy!

Ivy Mae Bloom is a 13 year old girl who spends her life in a Winnebago traveling the country with her mom, dad, and two sisters. They travel for her parents’ work; her dad is a travel writer, and her mom is a fallen star that barters with people for wishes and helps fix the magic that keeps the planet together.

But Ivy doesn’t want to travel anymore. She wants a forever home and the things that come with it. She wants friends, a pet, and four walls that don’t move. So one night she decides to make that happen. She gathers up all of her mother’s wishes, which are special fireflies in a jar, and releases them all at once, wishing for her forever home to come true. But wishes don’t always work out the way you want them to, and using multiple wishes at once has unpredictable consequences.

When Ivy's severe asthma attack forces her family to head to Whistling Ridge, North Carolina where one of her mom’s sisters lives, they discover her Aunt Agatha has aged dramatically since the last time they saw her, shocking all of them. As they pull into the driveway, the Winnebago’s transmission dies, and they are stuck there until they can earn enough money to fix it. But Ivy has other plans. She has a chance at a forever home, and she’s going to use her time in Whistling Ridge to convince her family that they should stay.

I loved this book so much. Even as an adult, I found myself tearing through the last quarter of the book to find out what was going to happen. I cried twice, in a good way, and was so sympathetic to Ivy and her struggles with her siblings since a lot of it echoed the tensions between me and my siblings. I also loved how it didn’t shy away from Ivy’s anger, that sense of uncontrollable anger that burns in your chest that I remember when I was that age. And it offered a way to work through those feelings in a healthy way, recognizing that Ivy’s feelings were a tangle of frustration and fear that was being aimed at her youngest sister, Sophia. It has great lessons of working through bitterness and pain, and not letting those feelings take over your life and affect those around you.

I received a free digital ARC. I love a middle grade with just the right dose of magical realism. This reminded me of Wendy Mass’ Willow Falls series. I love Cindy Baldwin’s books and can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. All her books are unique and explore different genres and themes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

The Stars of Whistling Ridge is a beautiful realistic middle grade story touched by magic that explores the theme of home and what it means. Ivy and her family live in a motorhome and travel from place to place so her mom can help fulfill wishes with her star magic. Ivy wishes she could stay in one place and have freedom from her sisters, friends, her own room, and the other perks that come from living in a single place. When Ivy steals her mom’s wishes to make her own, a series of events forces her family to stop in Whistling Ridge at her aunt’s house for an extended stay. Ivy desperately wants to stay in Whistling Ridge, but there is dark magic that’s slowly destroying the town and threatening her aunt’s life. Ivy and her new friends start to uncover the mystery behind this strange occurrence, but Ivy also wonders if helping her mom and aunts solve the problem will mean they have to leave again.

I really love the author’s writing, and even though I’m not a huge fan of books with magical elements, this story worked for me. As someone who’s moved many times, I could relate to Ivy’s need to set down roots and the risks she was willing to take to make that happen. Her desire to have her own needs met and to experience some independence were very appropriate for an upper MG character, and I loved watching her settle into life in Whistling Ridge. I also enjoyed seeing her grow as she was able to step back from her relationship with her family and realize their importance to her, especially her youngest sister, Sophie. I loved the mystery behind the dark magic, and although I was surprised by the ending, I thought it was fitting. The story’s focus on family was my favourite part, and I loved watching the relationships develop, change, and deepen. I fell in love with Whistling Ridge myself and wished it was an actual place that I could visit.

The length of the book (400 pages) may keep me from purchasing it for my collection, but I highly recommend it for readers in Gr. 5-7.