Starling
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Edward Scissorhands meets When the Moon Was Ours in this “darkly whimsical…engrossing” (Kirkus Reviews) novel about two teen sisters who fight to protect the mysterious stranger who literally fell from the stars and into their backyard.
Strange things have always happened in the small town of Darling…
Yet Delta Wilding and her sister Bee are familiar with the peculiar. Raised by an eccentric father always on the hunt for the spectacular, they’re used to following weather patterns that twirl onto strange paths, a car that refuses to play any artist but one, and living in a sentient house with whims of its own. But when a mysterious boy falls from the stars into the woods behind the Wilding sisters’ farmhouse, nothing can prepare them for the extraordinary turn their lives are about to take.
Extraordinary, and dangerous.
Starling Rust is not from this world and his presence in the Wilding home brings attention. As the terrified locals, Delta’s ex-boyfriend, and the unscrupulous mayor descend onto their home, both Delta and her sister go to incredible lengths to protect their mystical visitor—especially as Delta’s growing feelings for Starling could prove the greatest risk of all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
For most of her life, Delta Wilding, 18, has lived with her paranormal-obsessed father, Roark, and sister, Bee, 16, in the Wild West, a semi-sentient house on the outskirts of Darling, Calif. Seventy-two days ago, however, Roark entered their hallway closet and disappeared. The girls have nobody to turn to—Darling's residents despise the peculiar Wildings, and Mayor Tag Rockford wants a reason to run them out of town—so their only recourse is to lie low and hope their emergency funds last until Roark returns. When something lands in the Wildings' woods, shaking the ground and illuminating the sky, Delta and Bee investigate. To their shock, they find extraterrestrial Starling Rust, who resembles a teenage boy but for glowing skin, black eyes, and a forked tongue. Taking him home to prevent others from discovering and exploiting him, the sisters clash regarding what to do next. If the worldbuilding is slightly flimsy and the villains cartoonish, Strychacz's debut boasts evocative writing; a compelling love triangle between Delta, Starling, and Delta's sometimes-boyfriend, 18-year-old Tag Rockford III; and a kaleidoscopic third-person narrative that adds complexity to the mostly cued-white cast. Ages 12–up.
