The Star That Always Stays

Synopsis: When bright and spirited Norvia moves from the country to the city, she has to live by one new rule: Never let anyone know you’re Chippewa.

Back on Beaver Island, Grand-père told Norvia stories—stories about her ancestors Migiizi and Anang, about Biboonke-o-nini the Wintermaker, about the Crane Clan and the Reindeer Clan. He sang her songs in the old language, and her grandmothers taught her to make story quilts. There, there was no shame in being Chippewa.
 
Things are different in Boyne City. Here, Norvia has to pretend she’s not Native at all—even to Mr. Ward, Mother’s new husband, and to Casper, her irritating new stepbrother. In fact, there are a lot of changes in Boyne City: ten cent movies, gleaming soda shops, speedy bicycles, clattering cable cars, ninth grade. Despite the move, the lies, and the looming threat of war, Norvia and her siblings—all five of them—are determined to make 1914 a good year. In fact, Norvia is determined to have the best year ever, because she has some big ambitions to fulfil—someday, she wants to be a professional woman with a job. 
 
But how can she have the best year ever if she has to hide who she truly is?
 
Sensitive, enthralling, and classic in sensibility, this tender coming-of-age story about a thoughtful and intelligent girl not only tackles serious issues like assimilation, racism, and divorce, but also everygirl problems like first crushes, making friends, fitting in, and the joys and pains of a blended family. Often funny, often heartbreaking, THE STAR THAT ALWAYS STAYS is a fresh and vivid story based on Anna Rose Johnson’s family history.