A Pocketful of Stars

A magical middle grade book about family, friendship and finding out who you are, full of emotion and a secret fantasy world to discover. Perfect for 10 year olds and fans of Jacqueline Wilson, Ross Welford, Kiran Millwood-Hargrave and The House with Chicken Legs. From a rising star of children's books.

This place is magic … but it's not the sort of magic that comes from wands and spells …

Can piecing together the past help you change the present?

Safiya and her mum have never seen eye to eye. Her mum doesn’t understand Safiya’s love of gaming and Safiya doesn't think they have anything in common. As Safiya struggles to fit in at school she wonders if her mum wishes she was more like her confident best friend Elle. But then her mum falls into a coma and, when Safiya waits by her bedside, she finds herself in a strange and magical world that looks a bit like one of her games. And there’s a rebellious teenage girl, with a secret, who looks suspiciously familiar …

'Bushby's debut is poignant and atmospheric' Guardian

'A gorgeous story of friendship and growing up' Cathy Cassidy

'Moving and heartfelt', Anna James, author of Pages and Co

Aisha Bushby was selected as one of only four previously unpublished authors in the Stripes anthology for BAME writers, A Change is Gonna Come, alongside writers such as Patrice Lawrence, Tanya Byrne and Nikesh Shukla. The anthology was awarded a YA Book Prize Special Achievement Award. A Pocketful of Stars is her debut novel.

Reviews

Bushby's debut is poignant and atmospheric', Imogen Russell-Williams, Guardian

'A gorgeous story of friendship and growing up', Cathy Cassidy

'Moving and heartfelt', Anna James, author of Pages and Co

About the author

Aisha Bushby was selected as one of only four new authors in the Stripes anthology for BAME writers, A Change is Gonna Come, alongside writers such as Patrice Lawrence, Tanya Byrne and Nikesh Shukla. The anthology was awarded a YA Book Prize Special Achievement Award.

Since then she has been taking part in panels, interviews and events across the UK, from Bristol Waterstones to Manchester Academy, Birmingham Literature Festival to Southbank YALW, BBC Radio 3 to Buzzfeed. Aisha is a part-time Waterstones bookseller and lives in Lincolnshire.