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Keeping Safe the Stars

Author Sheila O'Connor
Paperback
$8.99 US
Penguin Young Readers | Puffin Books
5.1"W x 7.65"H x 0.88"D  
On sale Mar 06, 2014 | 320 Pages | 9780142427583
Grade 5 & Up
Reading Level: Lexile HL650L
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When crisis hits, a young girl becomes the only one left to take care of her family

Pride, Nightingale and Baby are the Stars. Orphaned and living with their grandfather, Old Finn, in rural Minnesota, the children, like their grandfather, are wary of outsiders. They believe, as Old Finn taught them, in self-reliance.

But then Old Finn falls seriously ill and is taken to the hospital all the way in Duluth, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Pride, as oldest, assumes the lead. Though she makes mistakes, she keeps them afloat; they even earn money for the bus trip to Duluth. But when they finally see Old Finn, he can't walk or even say his own name, and Pride knows her days of keeping safe the Stars are drawing to a close. Self-reliance can't make Old Finn well again. But maybe, just maybe, a secret from Old Finn's past might make a way for them to stay together after all.

A poignant story about family and love, Sheila O'Connor has delivered another extraordinary and mesmerizing tale.
© Devon Cox
Sheila O’Connor is the critically acclaimed author of Sparrow Road, winner of the International Reading Award, and Keeping Safe the Stars, as well as the adult novels Tokens of Grace and Where No Gods Came, winner of the Michigan Prize for Literary Fiction and the Minnesota Book Award. A writer of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for audiences of all ages, Sheila is a professor in the MFA program at Hamline University, where she also serves as the fiction editor for Water~Stone Review.
 
You can visit Sheila at sheilaoconnor.com View titles by Sheila O'Connor
“Family loyalty, stubbornness and love.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review ?

“A thought-provoking page-turner.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review ?

“With adventure, history, and even romance, it will appeal to a wide range of young readers.”—VOYA, starred review — Various

About

When crisis hits, a young girl becomes the only one left to take care of her family

Pride, Nightingale and Baby are the Stars. Orphaned and living with their grandfather, Old Finn, in rural Minnesota, the children, like their grandfather, are wary of outsiders. They believe, as Old Finn taught them, in self-reliance.

But then Old Finn falls seriously ill and is taken to the hospital all the way in Duluth, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Pride, as oldest, assumes the lead. Though she makes mistakes, she keeps them afloat; they even earn money for the bus trip to Duluth. But when they finally see Old Finn, he can't walk or even say his own name, and Pride knows her days of keeping safe the Stars are drawing to a close. Self-reliance can't make Old Finn well again. But maybe, just maybe, a secret from Old Finn's past might make a way for them to stay together after all.

A poignant story about family and love, Sheila O'Connor has delivered another extraordinary and mesmerizing tale.

Author

© Devon Cox
Sheila O’Connor is the critically acclaimed author of Sparrow Road, winner of the International Reading Award, and Keeping Safe the Stars, as well as the adult novels Tokens of Grace and Where No Gods Came, winner of the Michigan Prize for Literary Fiction and the Minnesota Book Award. A writer of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for audiences of all ages, Sheila is a professor in the MFA program at Hamline University, where she also serves as the fiction editor for Water~Stone Review.
 
You can visit Sheila at sheilaoconnor.com View titles by Sheila O'Connor

Praise

“Family loyalty, stubbornness and love.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review ?

“A thought-provoking page-turner.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review ?

“With adventure, history, and even romance, it will appeal to a wide range of young readers.”—VOYA, starred review — Various

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