Star In The Middle
by Carol Larese Millward
At age sixteen, Star’s life has changed drastically now that she’s become the mother of a baby boy. Because of the baby, Star’s planning to drop out of school to care for him instead of starting the eleventh grade. Star’s taking classes in parenting at a center for teen moms as she tries to learn to do what’s best for him. But she’s having trouble keeping up with the baby’s demands, and her grandmother is threatening to send her to foster care and force her to put the baby up for adoption if things don’t change. And to top it off, Wilson, the baby’s father, a popular star athlete with a bright future, refuses to believe that the baby is his. But there’s so much he doesn’t know about Star—terrible, painful secrets she’s hidden for years—even from her grandmother. Star suffers in silence and doesn’t know whom to trust, but she finds support from her friends. She reconnects with Todd, a Goth-style former classmate who’s now a teenager raising an infant daughter. As Wilson’s friends and family push him to accept responsibility for his child, he begins to learn the truth about Star and her disturbing past, facts that ultimately change his life forever. Alternating between Star’s and Wilson’s points-of-view, Star in the Middle allows readers to eavesdrop on the teens’ innermost thoughts and fears, revealing an astonishingly realistic, compelling snap-shot of the difficult lives of teenage parents.
Read What Writers Are Saying About Star In The Middle:
"Star In The Middle offers a unique approach among novels about unwed teen parents…revealing the intimate voices of the young mother and father. Both speak eloquently of their fears, confusion, anger and dreams as they each struggle to learn how to care for their child.”
—Maureen Stack Sappey, author of Letters from Vinnie,
a New York Public Library Best Book, and an Oklahoma Book Award Finalist
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Pub Date: October 2009