The Star Outside My Window - Onjali Q. Raúf - ★★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Onjali Q. Raúf

GENRE: Middle-grade Fiction

PUBLICATION DATE: October 3, 2019

RATING: 4.75 stars.

Would you like to read a book where the child in you wants to join the lead characters in their adventure, the parent in you wants to ask the children to be careful as their planned quest is very dangerous, and the human in you is shocked at the brutality of fellow humans? A book where you laugh out loud, sob silent tears, feel angry, frustrated, relieved, afraid? A book you can share with your child and yet enjoy it yourself? Your search stops here.

Aniyah is a little 10 year old girl who finds herself, along with her 5 year old brother Noah, in foster care. Her memory is hazy about how she reached Mrs. Iwuchukwu's foster house. All she knows is that her mother has become a star in the sky and her dad is looking for her. When the news channels report a previously-undiscovered star that seems to be moving across the skies, Aniyah knows that it's her mom trying to reach out to her. And when there's a worldwide competition to name the star, she knows that the star deserves her mother's name. After all, her mother's heart powers the star! Thus begins Aniyah's adventure along with two of the other children in foster care, Ben and Trevor.

The book is written for children, no doubt in that. There are many hilarious scenes, there is a whole load of adventure, there are many dangers that the children overcome, and there is a happy ending. (Every child deserves a book with a happy ending, right? Why let them learn too early how much life actually sucks?) At the same time, you, the adult reading the book, can sense the serious undertone that the children can't see, the hidden happenings that Aniyah seems unable to interpret correctly but leave you stupefied. You want to reach out and help Aniyah but you can't. All you can do is let your heart break again and again because you know that the fictional pain depicted in the book is a fact for many children.

I loved Aniyah, Noah, Trevor and Ben. Of the five children in the book, these four show a whole range of positive qualities that little readers will enjoy. The fifth child, Sophie, plays the mandatory negative character who hides her true emotions under a facade of aggression. But one lady I admired from the bottom of my heart was the foster caregiver, Mrs. Iwuchukwu. As that name sounded very unique, I googled its origin. Turns out that Iwuchukwu is an Igbo name meaning "God's convenant". And Mrs. Iwuchukwu is just like God to these unwanted children. I've been a parent for so many years and consider parenting as OJT (On the Job Training); you learn every day. But in this one book, Mrs. Iwuchukwu had so much to teach me. I was simply awestruck by her character.

If you have any 9+ aged child in your life, give them a hug and give them this book. And you yourself don't forget to read it. Keep tissues handy.

Trigger warning: parental death.