See You on a Starry Night by Lisa Schroeder

Today, I want to wish a very happy book birthday to the delightful new middle grade book See You on a Starry Night by Lisa Schroeder!

The book has been getting rave reviews — and for good reason! Lisa has a gift for writing meaningful, impactful, and easily accessible stories for middle grade readers. In See You on a Starry Night, Lisa tells the story of a girl coping with her parents’ divorce:

Juliet has just moved to a beachside town with her newly separated mother and her moody older sister. When she meets their new neighbor, Emma, the girls form an instant bond. Emma’s big family takes Juliet in, and the girls have fun together — starting with the night they throw bottles with secret messages into the sea.

Then someone writes back to Juliet’s message. An email arrives, inviting her to join the Starry Beach Club. All she has to do is make someone else’s wish come true.

So Juliet and Emma set off to help as many other people as they can. It’s fun! But as Juliet spends more and more time away from home, enjoying her new town and Emma’s family more than her own mom and sister, she starts feeling lost. It’s been easy to find others to help. But maybe her star would shine a little brighter if she brought it closer to home.

Here are ten things about See You on a Starry Night that Lisa has been sharing over the last several days:

11 YO Juliet has moved to San Diego because her parents have recently separated. I dedicated the book to children affected by divorce.
Juliet loves to make lists and there are many in the book.
The girls in the book are big fans of Vincent Van Gogh. That’s where part of the title comes from.
There’s a white cat named Casper in the story. I’ve always wanted a white cat.
Juliet and her new friend, Emma, throw bottles into the ocean with messages inside. I’ve always loved the idea of finding a bottle with a message inside! Imagine Juliet’s surprise when she gets an email response back.
Juliet LOVES to read.
There’s a bookmobile by the beach that is run by an older couple named Mr. and Mrs. Button and they become friends to the girls.
Juliet’s new friend, Emma, has a family who was inspired by a sweet and loving family I spent a lot of time with as a child – the Runyon family.
The story is set at Mission Beach in San Diego, one of my favorite beaches.
At it’s core, it is a book about helping others so you might forget your own problems for a while. And my hope is that readers will get the same benefit by reading Juliet’s story.