Fiction Friday: Children of the Stars

 Yay! It's Fiction Friday! I hope everyone is having a lovely long weekend. Are you making a dent in your To Be Read pile this weekend? Mine is currently multiple stacks, both physically and virtually! The perks of which, of course, are more book reviews! 

Children of the Stars by Mario Escobar is a historical fiction novel centered on brothers Jacob and Moses Stien. Fictional characters based on accounts of actual children who fought to survive World War 2. Many of whom were separated from their families or orphaned.

Having already fled their native Germany, parents Eleazar and Jana have traveled even farther South trying to secure a safe place to send for their boys and wait out the war. In the meantime, their sons, Jacob and Moses, are living with their aunt in Paris. More than a year has passed since their parents left. During a surprise roundup of Jews, the boys find themselves without even their aunt to help them. With minimal funds and only an address somewhere in Southern France, the boys leave Paris, determined to find their parents. 

I found this book both enjoyable and frustrating.

First, the positives. Some scenes have just the right emotional tone and tension and were a pleasure to read. Most of the characters in this work are easy to get to know and relate to. A few we get to know even better, and as a reader, it was easy to connect to them. Mostly, the characters had actual strengths and flaws, so even when I didn't like something they said or did, it was understandable why they might behave that way. The boys have a decent character arc, which I appreciated. 

Originally published in Spanish, I felt the translation was excellent. 

Now some things I didn't care for. The prologue was neither necessary nor informative. I had some issues with pacing as well. A few parts go into rich detail, some entail overwhelming challenges, others feel drawn out a bit long. Yet other parts felt skimmed over, and the obstacles simply situationally convenient rather than character or plot-driven. Though few, the occasional editing errors were annoying, but in one instance, confusing, when the wrong character's name appeared. 

Another pet peeve was that the children often appear unnaturally mature. At times their manner of speech and reasoning felt too grown-up. I don't mean the way war often forces children to face realities and grow up too fast. Rather, their reactions to situations, certain expressions, and even their undeterred determination simply felt more adult-like, especially considering the kinds of stresses these boys face. Kids misbehave, siblings squabble, and fear often makes kids completely freeze up. Jacob especially just seemed too level-headed for a twelve-year-old.

My biggest problem, however, is how the author hops from head to head abruptly and frequently throughout the entire novel. It doesn't feel like the third-person omniscient point of view, because it is neither consistent nor organized. It was enormously distracting and affected my ability to immerse myself in the book. It's no surprise that my favorite parts are ones in which we clearly know whose perspective we are following, and it stays that way from beginning to end of the scene. Because this format was present throughout most of the book, my overall enjoyment significantly decreased.

I am a huge fan of stories set in this era, and there were many aspects of this book that brought this time period to life. I like the premise of the story; I wish it had been more fluidly executed and had stuck to following only the boys' points of view. I'm not unhappy that I read it. 

If you enjoy historical fiction, especially WW2 stories, you might enjoy it. It defiantly has an element of adventure. There was no profanity or sex, but there are a few descriptions of suicide and brutality, though these are not extremely graphic.

While not a new favorite, I don't feel it was a waste of reading time.

Overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars, PT - recommended for readers 12+