A Glasshouse of Stars: Winner of the CBCA Book of the Year Younger
Winner of the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year - Younger Readers 2022 An exquisite, heartbreakingly beautiful gem of a novel for anyone who loved Wonder, Lenny's Book of Everything, A Monster Calls or When You Reach Me. New Starts, New Worlds Meixing Lim and her family have arrived at the New House in the New Land. Everything is vast and unknown to Meixing - including the house she names Big Scary. She is embarrassed by her second-hand shoes, has trouble understanding the language at school, and is finding it hard to make friends. Finding Solace in Imagination Meixing's only solace is a glasshouse in the garden, which inexplicably holds the sun and the moon and the secrets of her memory and imagination. Learning Courage and Resilience When her fragile universe is rocked by tragedy, it will take all of Meixing's bravery to find her place of belonging in this new world. --------------------------- 'Heart-twisting and hopeful, bursting with big feelings and gentle magic.' Jessica Townsend, NYT bestselling author 'Poignant and beautifully told.' Melina Marchetta 'An exceptionally beautiful and lyrical debut.' The Bookseller 'Has the power to bring adults back to childhood.' Vanessa Elle, Glam Adelaide 'A tender, touching narrative.' Kirkus Reviews 'Highly recommended for thoughtful readers in middle to upper primary.' Books and Publishing 'Endearing, raw, and highlights the realities of change in an intimate way.' Better Reading
Shirley Marr is a first-generation Chinese Australian living in Perth and an author of young adult and children's fiction, including YA novels Fury and Preloved, and children's novels Little Jiang, A Glasshouse of Stars, All Four Quarters of the Moon and Countdown to Yesterday. She describes herself as having a Western mind and an Eastern heart. She likes to write in the space in the middle where they both collide, basing her stories on her own personal experiences of migration and growing up in Australia, along with the folk and fairy tales from her mother. Arriving in mainland Australia from Christmas Island as a seven-year-old in the 1980s and experiencing the good, the bad and the wonder that comes with culture shock, Shirley has been in love with reading and writing from that early age. Shirley is a universe full of stars and stories and hopes to share the many other novels that she has inside her.
Author: Shirley Marr
Format: Paperback, 288 pages, 130mm x 197mm, 251 g
Published: 2021, Penguin Random House Australia, Australia
Genre: Children's Fiction
Interest Age: From 9 to 11 years
Winner of the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year - Younger Readers 2022 An exquisite, heartbreakingly beautiful gem of a novel for anyone who loved Wonder, Lenny's Book of Everything, A Monster Calls or When You Reach Me. New Starts, New Worlds Meixing Lim and her family have arrived at the New House in the New Land. Everything is vast and unknown to Meixing - including the house she names Big Scary. She is embarrassed by her second-hand shoes, has trouble understanding the language at school, and is finding it hard to make friends. Finding Solace in Imagination Meixing's only solace is a glasshouse in the garden, which inexplicably holds the sun and the moon and the secrets of her memory and imagination. Learning Courage and Resilience When her fragile universe is rocked by tragedy, it will take all of Meixing's bravery to find her place of belonging in this new world. --------------------------- 'Heart-twisting and hopeful, bursting with big feelings and gentle magic.' Jessica Townsend, NYT bestselling author 'Poignant and beautifully told.' Melina Marchetta 'An exceptionally beautiful and lyrical debut.' The Bookseller 'Has the power to bring adults back to childhood.' Vanessa Elle, Glam Adelaide 'A tender, touching narrative.' Kirkus Reviews 'Highly recommended for thoughtful readers in middle to upper primary.' Books and Publishing 'Endearing, raw, and highlights the realities of change in an intimate way.' Better Reading
Shirley Marr is a first-generation Chinese Australian living in Perth and an author of young adult and children's fiction, including YA novels Fury and Preloved, and children's novels Little Jiang, A Glasshouse of Stars, All Four Quarters of the Moon and Countdown to Yesterday. She describes herself as having a Western mind and an Eastern heart. She likes to write in the space in the middle where they both collide, basing her stories on her own personal experiences of migration and growing up in Australia, along with the folk and fairy tales from her mother. Arriving in mainland Australia from Christmas Island as a seven-year-old in the 1980s and experiencing the good, the bad and the wonder that comes with culture shock, Shirley has been in love with reading and writing from that early age. Shirley is a universe full of stars and stories and hopes to share the many other novels that she has inside her.