Books with title Star Light, Star Bright

Set in 1916, Far Bright Star follows Napoleon Childs, an aging cavalryman, as he leads an expedition of inexperienced soldiers into the mountains of Mexico to hunt down Pancho Villa and bring him to justice. Though he is seasoned at such missions, things go terribly wrong and the patrol is brutally attacked. Napoleon is left to die in the desert, and through him, we enter the mind of a warrior as he tries to survive against all odds.

Like all the girls at the House of Gear, Bright has a higher purpose: to be, like, awesome. That means Bright’s engineered body must always look perfect. It means she must be appealing at all times. The minders are watching, after all. The minders see everything.One of them, Grassly, is on a mission that will lead Bright toward a new future while exposing her to incredible danger. If the other minders catch a whiff of curiosity, rebelliousness or free will, they may decide it’s time to reboot the entire population—just as Bright is discovering a whole new purpose within herself.Susan Juby brings her trademark humour to a dark, dystopian world in this thrilling new addition to the genre.

Set in 1916, Far Bright Star follows Napoleon Childs, an aging cavalryman, as he leads an expedition of inexperienced soldiers into the mountains of Mexico to hunt down Pancho Villa and bring him to justice. Though he is seasoned at such missions, things go terribly wrong and the patrol is brutally attacked. After witnessing the demise of his troops, Napoleon is left by his captors to die in the desert. Through him we enter the conflicted mind of a warrior as he tries to survive against all odds, as he seeks to make sense of a lifetime of senseless wars and to reckon with the reasons a man would choose a life on the battlefield. Olmstead, an award-winning writer, uses his precise, descriptive prose to explore the endurance and fate of the last horse soldiers. The result is a tightly wound novel that is as moving as it is terrifying.

It's bad enough that Sadira Pascal's father doesn't make it home to celebrate her fifteenth birthday. He might be a busy hovership engineer pulling overtime on a new design, but he's always been home for the important things. It's worse when she discovers her father decided to ride on the maiden voyage of his newest ship, the CAS Bright Star, without even telling her. But things really fall apart during Sadira's field trip with her class to observe the hovership launch. Instead of a successful flight, she watches the Bright Star fall out of the sky. The Central government confirms her father's death, leaving Sadira to pick up the pieces of her former life. While she struggles with her loss, Private Baruj Haddad tries to convince her that her father and the rest of the Bright Star crew are still alive. At first, Sadira doesn't believe there's any hope. But then she stumbles across a message that makes her think maybe, just maybe, her father is still alive. As she digs deeper into the Bright Star's crash, Sadira uncovers secrets about her father's work, secrets that put her and everyone she loves in danger.

Hamid rubbed the light from his eyes and looked again. He was not dreaming. It was his stepfather! The man watched Kinza as a snake might watch a baby rabbit at play, waiting for the moment to strike. And for one breathless moment Hamid was sure that he would reach out and snatch her away. Hamid does not want his little blind sister, Kinza, to be sold to a beggar, by their stepfather, so he decides to rescue her. Together they escape from their mountain village to a town where there may be a new home for Kinza. But this is only the start of their adventures. Will Kinza be safe? What will happen to Hamid who dares not go back home? Set in North Africa, this exciting, freshly edited novel of St. John's will delight young readers. It is based on the author's own experiences as a missionary in Tangier, Morocco. Recommended for ages 10 to 12.

The future issoBrightLike all the girls at the House of Gear, Bright has a higher purpose: to be, like, awesome. This means Bright's engineered body must always look perfect. It means she must be appealing at all times. The personal support staff are watching, after all.One of them, Grassly, is on a mission that will lead Bright toward "enlightenment" and a new future while exposing her to incredible danger. If the other P.S. staff catch even a whiff of rebelliousness, they may decide it's time to reboot the entire population-just as Bright is discovering-a whole new purpose within herself.Susan Juby brings her trademark humour to dystopian and sci-fi worlds in this electrifying new addition to the genres.

Acclaimed author Robert Olmstead is a masterful stylist whose keen ear for dialogue has helped him earn the Heartland Prize for Fiction, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts grant. In 1916, veteran cavalryman Napoleon Childs leads an expedition into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa and bring him to justice. But Childs' troops--a motley assemblage of deadbeats and criminals--are greenhorns nearly to the last man. When Childs is ambushed by marauders and his hapless troops are wiped out, he is left to die alone in the unforgiving Mexican desert. Lean and muscular, yet undeniably elegant, Far Bright Side is an immediate classic of American fiction. Ed Sala's narration captures the grit and terrible beauty of Olmstead's work, leaving an indelible mark on the listener.