Book Review: The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson

Fiction.

Fiction is fun to read–getting lost in another world, meeting new characters, and reading about new places–but sometimes I find myself thinking that I should be reading something else. A book about Christian living, or about writing, or a commentary. A book that would seem to benefit me more than a novel.

What I don’t realize in those times is that fiction can have a big impact on readers. The themes and characters in the stories we read can affect us spiritually. A book that I read recently is part of what helped me realize this.

Set in the early 1900s, The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson is about a teenage girl named Norvia. Norvia’s life is flipped upside down when her parents get divorced, then her mother remarries a man named Virgil Ward (who Norvia calls Uncle Virgil).

Now, Norvia has new step siblings and a new stepfather–a new person controlling her life, she thinks at first. She also has new opportunities, though. Her stepfather allows her to attend high school–something her real father never would have allowed.

In school, Norvia endures gossip and isolation from many of the other kids. Divorce is unacceptable in the time and place where she lives. And since Norvia’s mother has been divorced, the other mothers don’t want their children to associate with Norvia.

Norvia had wanted to be a heroine at school, and her mother’s divorce ruined that dream. Now, she can’t be part of the popular group, like she wanted to. And her hopes of finding a beau are affected by her parents’ divorce, too. Why does her life have to be like this?

Norvia does find a couple of good friends at school, though. A boy named Alymer, a girl named Kitty, and another boy named Louis.

These three friends and Norvia’s family manage to show her that she can’t dwell on her troubles, like she was doing at the beginning of the book. She can’t control what happens to her, but she can control how she responds. And she decides to choose joy.

The Star That Always Stays has biblical themes and many of the characters are Christians that strive to follow the Word of God. None of the characters are perfect, but I learned so much from them.

Here are some specific things that impacted me from the book:

Theme

The theme I saw of choosing joy in spite of your circumstances impacted me a lot. I am a generally happy person, but I, like all other people, can feel hurt or offended by situations sometimes.

It’s not wrong to feel those things, but it’s bad to dwell on them. When I dwell on how someone else has wronged me, or how I don’t deserve what has happened to me, I focus too much on myself and not enough on God.

I want to choose to be joyful and serve others no matter my circumstances. People may not treat me well sometimes. That doesn’t change the fact that I should love and serve them. Life may be hard sometimes. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be joyful.

Characters

There were so many characters that taught me things in The Star That Always Stays. Some taught me what not to be like, while others are good role models.

Characters that showed me what not to be like:

Norvia’s father, Pa, was wealthy when he was younger but lost his wealth and moved to America to start a new life.

In America, he never gained back his old wealth, no matter how hard he tried. He and his family lived a poor life. He would gamble to try to earn money, which didn’t always end well. He was a sailor, and would leave his family often on sailing trips–scaring Norvia’s ma whenever he did this. Ma feared Pa wouldn’t come back from a sailing trip one day.

Eventually, Pa gave up on trying to get back his old way of life. He thought that nothing he did could ever change his situation. And because of this, he lost his hope and dreams. What is life without hope?

I want to have hope and dreams, unlike Pa.

Norvia’s best friend, Helen, ended their friendship when Norvia’s parents got divorced. Helen’s mother told her not to hang out with Norvia, so Helen was honoring her mother’s wishes, but she could have treated Norvia better than she did.

Helen became one of the popular girls, a group that gossipped a lot–often about Norvia. She wasn’t faithful to her old friend.

I want to be a faithful friend, unlike Helen.

And finally, Norvia, at the beginning of the book, struggled with some depression. Her struggle was understandable, considering what she had gone through, but she hadn’t yet learned to choose joy.

I want to be joyful, unlike Norvia at the beginning of the book.

Characters that modeled good traits

Uncle Virgil, Norvia’s stepfather, was not immediately accepted by Norvia’s family. She and some of her siblings were concerned about their ma’s remarriage because they felt their mother had rushed into it. They didn’t want another father like Pa–a father that controlled their lives.

But Uncle Virgil proved to be patient in spite of all the tests his new family and stepchildren put him through. He never lost his temper with the children. He didn’t get angry at them when they were rude, but he never let them get away with misbehaving, either.

He went through a lot as well as his stepfamily. He was isolated at church because he married a divorced woman. There is no doubt he faced other social dilemmas. But he chose happiness and patience in spite of it.

He was often seen reading his Bible in the book. He was also very generous and kind. He gave Norvia books and let her go to school, unlike her Pa would have done, and he was always thinking about the children’s best interests.

I want to be as loving as Uncle Virgil.

Kitty, Louis, and Alymer, Norvia’s friends, didn’t have to associate themselves with her. Most people at school didn’t want to befriend Norvia because of her parents’ divorce. But these three were kind to her and defended her to their schoolmates.

Kitty stood up for Norvia when a group of girls gossiped about her. Alymer did the same. Louis comforted Norvia when she was crying one day, and he showed up to a school dance so Norvia wouldn’t be alone after Alymer, her original partner, couldn't make it.

I want to be a faithful and kind friend like each of them was.

Marguerite, Norvia’s step sister, could have behaved like Norvia and her siblings did at first. She could have been resentful of her new family.

But instead, she was hospitable and welcoming. Though she was grown up and didn’t live with the rest of the family, she visited often, made a point to make friends with her new step siblings. Marguerite may have found it hard to have a new family because her mother had recently died, but she pushed past it.

I want to have the courage to move forward and the hospitality that Marguerite had.

When Norvia was struggling and still learning to choose joy, Uncle Virgil and Vernon (although it took Vernon some time to warm up to Norvia) encouraged her. They shared Bible verses with her and led her to set her focus on Jesus instead of her hardships.

I want to encourage people like Uncle Virgil and Vernon encouraged Norvia.

The Star That Always Stays was an amazing book. It showed me how big of an impact fiction can have–and books in general can have. We should be careful to read God-glorifying books because books impact our minds and souls so much–and The Star That Always Stays is definitely a book that glorifies God. I encourage you to read it!