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Mar 14, 2018SurreyLibraries_Teens rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This story is written through the perspective of Lolly, a 12 year old boy who is trying to figure out how to handle the loss of his older brother, along with some other issues. The book started out incredibly slow, which is a downfall for me. It didn’t really start to pick up and become interesting until the last 80 or so pages. Most of the characters were somewhat lacking in likeability, but I did appreciate the diversity of the cast. The only character I found myself actually enjoying was Rosamund. In my opinion, what this book didn't provide was a solid plotline. From the first few chapters, I presumed that this was a story about overcoming grief and coping with the loss of a loved one, but it was not. The plot kept jumping from storyline to storyline and I often felt like I was reading a completely different book every few chapters. What I did enjoy was the creative aspect of the book and the bond that developed between Lolly and Rosamund through their passion for Lego. I liked reading the parts where these two characters would spend their time after school building their own cities made of Lego. The cover of this book beautifully showcases this aspect of the story. All in all, I think what this book really needed was one plot line that it would follow throughout the entire course of the story to make it more cohesive. -Shae-Lynn ********************************* 'The stars beneath our feet' by David Barclay Moore is a remarkable novel written about a boy in New York City who deals with the pressure of gangs, drugs, and violence while mourning the loss of his older brother. He finds the one thing he truly loves and sticks with it throughout the bad and the good things life throws at him. The author shows us the vulnerable side of a boy who is expected to be a man and to pull out a gun if needed, but Lolly is different and the reader gets an insight in how hard it is to be a boy when everyone expects you to be a man. This book shows readers how to take the memories you have of a person you lost and remember the good and celebrate their life instead of drowning in sorrow. When most kids were completing their homework and going to movies with friends, Lolly was trying to deal with the loss of his brother. The guilt and the helplessness he feels throughout the book is just so real and something anyone can connect with by just reading the book. It shows us the emotional and the crazy side of being a human being but also how another human will always be with you to go through the sadness with you. We need more raw, emotional and authentic books like this one where the readers connect with the characters and emphasize with the author. Legos for Lolly symbolize something that is out of this world and something that he finds peace with. He can create anything he wants to with these Legos which means nothing bad ever has to happen to him or to the characters that he creates, which means he does not have to get hurt like he does in real life. I would highly recommend this novel for anyone looking to deal with issues such as gangs, drugs, loss of a family member or to anyone just looking to finding themselves, amidst all of life’s problems! -Manraaj Grewal