I received an ARC from NetGalley and Usborne Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This book is definitely out of my comfort zone for the types of books I usually read, but I absolutely loved it! I knew after just reading the first few chapters that this book was going to be something special and I'm excited to share it with others.

The story follows Mexing and her parents as they arrive in the New Land (Australia), from China, planning to move in with Mexing's uncle. However, when he suddenly dies before their arrival, the family are left with a house that is far too big for them, in an unfamiliar country where they don't know anyone and understanding the local language and customs is a challenge.

Each day is a difficult. Mexing's father works an exhausting job to bring in enough money for them to live, her mother struggles with being heavily pregnant and away from her extended family and Mexing herself is trying to fit in at school. When an unexpected event happens, everything gets ever harder than before.

However, through all the tears and difficulties, there is a message of hope. Things might be hard now, and they continue to be hard for a long time, but things will get better. The Big House shifts and changes depending on the family's moods and what is happening in their lives. It reveals hidden rooms and staircases or contacts down to a tiny house. In the back garden, Mexing discovers a magical greenhouse where she can go to experience moments of wonder and peace and try to make sense of all the confusion in her life.

This book is written in the second person, which is an unusual choice that I've not read from in a middle grade before. It works brilliantly here. The immediacy of using 'you' draws you into Mexing's experience and you can feel all the joys and frustrations she goes through.

Mexing as a character is wonderful. She's so gentle, so considerate of others and so determined. Some of the situations she finds herself in seem almost impossible to overcome, but she finds the strength to have a go and do something to try and solve the problem. She's such a great role model for taking a leap of faith even if you don't know how things will work out.

The other characters all add to the story well. There are the friends she begins to make, who give us insights into the different ways that people might deal with being new to a country and not speaking its language. There are members of Mexing's family through whom we see aspects of Chinese culture. There Mexing's teachers and the difference between their approaches shows how important it is for children to have someone who believes in them.

This is a great book for readers aged 10+ and I would recommend everyone join Mexing on her journey to overcome life's challenges and find a little bit of magic in the world.

I read #AGlasshouseOfStars this afternoon & oh, my heart 😭 It is so beautifully written by debut Shirley Marr. I just love the kids & their stories of their journeys & Big Scary is amazing & magical. Already published, thanks for the proof @Usborne! https://t.co/e7OuP936BT

When I first started reading ‘A Glasshouse of Stars’, my immediate reaction was - oh no, it’s in second person. I’ve never particularly enjoyed second person narratives; I’ve read some really bad ones in the past and they always feel a little awkward. I very nearly shelved this as ‘did not finish’ simply for my prejudice towards second person. I persevered, however, and I’m really pleased that I did.

‘A Glasshouse of Stars’ is a sensitively written, dreamlike tale of Meixing who, along with her family, is a recent immigrant from ‘Old Land’ to ‘New Land’. Her newly-inherited house, ‘Big Scary’, becomes a world of childhood imagination and a safe place away from the racism and bullying that she encounters in the New Land. This a tale of friendship and loyalty, and of overcoming obstacles.

I completely understand why Marr chose second person this narrative, as our empathy with Meixing is absolutely vital to our understanding of her view of the New Land. The author explains this at the end of the book, and I applaud her for this decision. However, it does make our reading of this story even more harrowing - as a teacher, I got really angry with some of the children and adults in the book, and got so involved in Meixing’s viewpoint, that I felt genuinely upset for her.

Marr has done a great job in making her characters and situations so realistic, but I did feel that Meixing is so unbelievably vulnerable, and the situations so horrible, that the younger reader may find this book rather traumatic, especially if they have any experience of similar situations. Ma Ma’s grief and depression may be especially worrying for children to read about, and there is no clear conclusion to many of the issues raised, which is unusual in a book for younger readers. Despite it featuring younger characters, I’d maybe recommend this book for ‘upper middle grade’ 11-12 year olds, but as a teacher, I’d be very wary about which children I suggested reading it.

A glasshouse of stars was a beautiful heartwarming story with a powerful message!

The character of Meixing I found realistic considering what she had gone through. The theme of growth, family and finding yourself was immaculate! The second person POV was unique and something new!

Overall this was a great read and I would recommend it. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the E-arc! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy of Glasshouse of Stars, in exchange for a book review.
This review may contain spoilers.

Written in the second person POV, which I am not used to reading in, but in fact I found the story made more of an impact written this way.

A beautiful introduction to the story by painting the house - from her first impressions outside, to her exploration inside.

Meixing’s worries as a child felt so real. I can recall feeling them as a young child; her thoughts and confused feelings about her little world of Ma Ma, Ba Ba and she and worries about the changes to her little world and not wanting to grow up.
You really feel Meixing’s emotions oozing out of the pages; her frustration and upset in trying to communicate the truth to those that would treat her unfairly or unkindly. To put her feelings of loss aside in order to help her grieving mother cope, was a huge tearjerker for me. Her empathy towards two boys who have troubles of their own.
The magical element of the story was abstract, imaginary and wonderful. And made so much sense when tied in with the emotions of the story.

This book is breathtaking. It draws out the thoughts and daydreams of a young child, just as real as if I had experienced them when reading.
In addition, I found the information and questions that Shirley posed at the end of the book (for her readers and for classroom discourse), thoughtful and strengthening.

This is a book I hold close to my heart and never want to let go of. It is one of the best books of its genre I have read.

Thank you so much to Usborne Publishing And Netgalley for the earc to read and review.

Meixing is such a sweet little girl who tells her story as though she is telling it to herself. When her life changes and more changes follow her, she has to find her own way to cope with the strange new world and changes surrounding her. She goes through so much in such a small space of time and has to fine one magical way to deal with everything.

I found this really hard to get into, I really struggled with this book. It sounded really sweet and magical, I thought I’d enjoy it so much but unfortunately that just wasn’t the case for me. That doesn’t mean to say others won’t love and enjoy this I’m actually expecting it be a very much enjoyed story.

It is creatively written in second person, it has magic that she creates to deal with everything she is going through, within her beautiful glasshouse of stars. It tells a story that will be familiar to a lot of immigrant children that have gone through the struggles of language barriers, scenery changes and family pressures to fit in and do a perfect job at everything they do.

I really didn’t like the adults in this book not even a little bit, they just didn’t sit well with me personally, especially her dad, he was a horrible and very harsh man, he expected and demanded so much from such a small child who had her life just turned upside down and didn’t even know the language yet, didn’t know pretty much anything from this scary new land but he demanded she be a perfect student.

This story was written well was very vivid and had so much sadness within it. It told an interesting story and I’m sad that personally I couldn’t get into it or enjoy it fully. As I said though I believe this would be a great and enjoyed book for other readers, it’s actually got a good educational aspect as it can help teach about immigrated students and how hard life is for them to adjust so could be a good one to teach with in schools.

This magical story is a must read. Meixing arrives with her family to the New Land, and encounters tragedy and racism. The reader is submerged into the confusion, helplessness and barriers communication has on her newly arrived family. Help comes in the form of a neighbour, two new friends (both with their own complex history) and a school teacher. Meixing is able to escape and dream in her glasshouse and through this magic we are able to dream of the possibilities her future life will hold. With this hope in mind, we will her on, in her daily struggles. Written in the second person, this book is immersive and a powerful testament to migration. It will leave an imprint on your heart and I will certainly discuss this title with my teacher friends. I look forward to sharing this story with my children, for us to enjoy and discuss together. I feel this book would be most suitable for KS 3 pupils (Year 7 and above).

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

A moving, magical, lyrical story with a beautiful and rare second-person narrative that transports you into Meixing's world. The very definition of empathy-building. It'll open up so many conversations about the immigrant experience - old lands and new lands, old languages and new languages, discovering new words and not finding them when you need them. Fitting in, finding your people, being proud of who you are, and so much about feelings and family and friendship. My heart broke and healed and soared. I'll be telling everyone about this precious book.

A Glasshouse of Stars is a unique and powerful story of starting a new life in a new land. Inspired by the author’s childhood experiences, it provides insight into the lack of understanding and empathy often faced by those trying to find a home. This story will prompt valuable discussions about hardship, racism, bullying and how to be empathetic towards the circumstances of others.

This book is just beautiful. Beautiful in the way it is written, the language used and the images it conjures up. It's written in the second person which is unusual. However, the second person writing makes it incredibly personal and you feel like you are watching Meixing's life as a silent fly on the wall but willing her to do and say the right thing. I had a desperate feeling to help her and I am so grateful for the kind teacher in the story that understood the needs of the three "outsiders" as she brings them together to give them extra help in school as they try desperately to fit into their new country. Based on the author's own experiences made it even more sad that children probably still feel like this when they arrive in a new country and have to fit in. The magical house and glasshouse is just beautiful and adds such a richly deep dimension to the story in the way it helps Meixing and responds to her needs.

All in all a beautiful story about culture, moving, fitting in, family and friendship. There are so many more questions and stories of characters I would like to learn more about.

This is simply a stunning book that is magical but filled with heartache in equal measures.

Meixing and her family arrive in The New Land in order to make a new life and give Meixing a good start in her education. However, tragedy strikes and it hits Meixing as you would expect. She ends up taking solace in her house and, particularly the glasshouse where her uncle used to potter and do his gardening. However, she finds out that the house is magical and responds when she needs comfort.

This is written in second person perspective which makes you feel like you are Meixing. It is a raw but beautiful story that has stayed with me long after I read it. My book of the year so far.

A Glasshouse of Stars is a thought-provoking and heartwarming story of belonging, sacrifice, family and understanding.

Meixing is just 7 when her family moves from a remote island to start a new life in Australia. Everything is strange and new to the family. They don’t speak the language of the New Land, the father doesn’t have a job, a new baby is on the way and there is very little money. They do have a house to live in that was left to them by Big Uncle, who has just passed away. Meixing’s life has just been turned upside down.

Meixing discovers an old house made of glass in the backyard, where she finds the ghost of Big Uncle and a rather strange cat. Inside the glasshouse, she discovers a whole new world. She is the only one who can see this world and begins to visit regularly. School is terrible as she doesn’t speak the language and she is bullied. However, when she and another two children are taken to a special class where they are helped with English, things start to look up. That’s when tragedy strikes. Will Meixing and her family ever learn how to survive in the New Land?

This is an enchanting tale that gently weaves important themes of immigration, racism and displacement with threads of magic, hope and the power of imagination. Based on the author’s own experiences, A Glasshouse of Stars is an excellent story about discovering your place in the world.

This is a story of belonging, scrafice, family and compassion.
Maixing is such a naive girl, who is taken advantage of at her new school. She can't speak the local language and therefore can't tell teachers when her "friend" has stolen from her and she can't explain how she feels or what she's been through.
(I felt like I really connected to Maixing as I never fit in at school and got taken advantage of from the "popular" people.)

Her mother is suffering from grief and depression and doesn't pay Maixing much attention which she doesn't understand as she is only young.

The description is so outstanding that you can really picture it in you head. I wish I had a glasshouse like the one in the book. The characters have such a deep and powerful story that you really connect to them and feel for them.

A beautiful story about finding your place in the world.
I highly reccomend it.

A Glasshouse of Stars is very much an immerse read, totally different to anything I’ve read before. The second person narrative really draws the reader into the story, forcing them to become the character and experience the book not as a reader, but instead as Meixing, the main character. Given the subject matter of migration, this is particularly powerful.

Meixing and her family have arrived in the New Land, ready to start a new life. The reader is thrown in at the deep end and experiences the racism, the confusion and the fear that the seven year old narrator feels as she begins life in this new place. The feelings of loneliness, grief for her old life, fear of the unknown and frustration are felt as clearly by the reader as they are the narrator. This book was a real eye-opener for me and it helped me to have a much greater understanding of the challenges faced by refugees and migrants. The flash-forwards gave the reader a sense of hope for the future, without losing pace or a sense of time.

A Glasshouse of Stars is a beautiful story: it feels poetic in form. It is a powerful book, which leaves an imprint upon the reader. I think it would be too complex in style for the majority of primary aged readers but would certainly recommend it for Year 7+. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is an important book with a powerful message about immigration. It is perfect for raising awareness about the unspoken challenges faced by immigrant children and how crucial it is for the local community to be kind, inclusive, and provide the right learning tools and support.

Meixing’s story is an immersive experience in the difficulties of moving to a new country, struggling with a foreign language, suffering injustice and racist attacks from locals including teachers, all this complicated by the death of her father and the crushing weight of having to take care of her depressed, pregnant mother. The portrayal of these challenges is unflinching, which might make some readers feel angry or overwhelmed, so some parental or classroom guidance could be useful.

Meixing, Kevin and Josh’s feelings of helplessness, loneliness, shame, stress, confusion, fear, frustration and anger are experienced by many immigrant children, who often do not know how to put these complex feelings into words and seek direct help. Speaking from personal experience, it is only with hindsight that I now understand what challenges I had to face as an immigrant child/adolescent. As such, I think this book could do wonders by making these children feel emotionally validated while helping non-immigrants understand their feelings better and be more empathetic.

This book also sends a positive message about finding refuge and strength in one’s imagination, about being hopeful, making friends, being able to learn and adapt, and putting down new roots without forgetting one’s past. It is a reassuring thought that the shy, scared, overwhelmed Meixing in the story grew up to become the inspirational storyteller that Shirley Marr is.

The writing is lucid and imaginative, the use of second-person narrative is unusual but refreshing, and the magical realist elements are fascinating and adorable. I love Big Scary, the house that becomes a character: a magical house with its own feelings that reflect Meixing’s state of mind, expanding or shrinking according to need and mood. I also love the Glasshouse and the metaphor of planting seeds, putting down roots and telling personal stories that are represented by different plants.

I love everything about this beautiful, heartfelt and powerful book. I wish my 12-year-old self could have read it, and I hope many children struggling with similar challenges will be able to read this and find comfort and strength in the story.

✨✨✨

Given that I loved the book, a good review will be posted on Amazon and Waterstones. A shortened version of this review will be also posted on my Instagram account (@Riso.Allegro) on publication day. My IG homepage: https://www.instagram.com/riso.allegro/

2nd person narration gives a hard-hitting personal insight into immigration, racism, bullying & fear but there's also many moments of joy in Meixing's tale, especially her spiritual sanctuary in the glasshouse & developing friendships. I can't wait to see what my class think!

This book promised and began very well. The story told in the second person made the experiences of the bewildered little girl, newly arrived in a foreign land, feel immediate and real. The difficulties with speaking out at school can’t fail to remind readers of how hard life is for so many immigrants or refugees however I felt that as the tale progressed the idea of the central glasshouse was barely developed and that there were too many nods to “issues” a child might come across with little resolution. It was though, beautifully written and full of pathos.

In the past six months, I’ve read two books which have featured the theme of immigration very heavily: Boy, Everywhere by A. M. Dassu and Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Both of these are incredible books and have, quite rightly, gone on to be widely read by the Twitter kidlit community to which I belong. Very different in style from one another, there are times when both books make quite difficult reading before ultimately finishing with a heart-warming ending that gives the reader hope of a brighter future for the two protagonists.

This new title also features a migration – of young girl Meixing, who together with her parents moves to the New Land in search of a better education and prospects that would otherwise be unavailable to her. While there are many themes that run parallel throughout all three titles, this book is more fantastical and has a very different feel because, very unusually, it is written as a second person narrative – something I do not recall ever having experienced in a work of fiction.

Meixing’s new home is one which her family has inherited following the death of her First Uncle. Arriving after a long plane journey, the family are nervous about entering the house because First Uncle’s funeral has been held in accordance with the local practices, meaning that his ghost might not be aware of his death and still be in residence. Entering the building, Meixing’s father Ba Ba puts a talisman above the doorframe to work its protective magic before settling another inside the front entrance to reflect bad luck away.

Heavily pregnant, Meixing’s mother Ma Ma goes to rest leaving her to explore the house, on the understanding that she is a good girl. After finding her bedroom – something which is a novelty after having to share with her parents – Meixing starts to think of the enormous house, which seems almost to be alive to her with its ability to change itself, as Big Scary. Looking out of her bedroom window at the back garden, she is puzzled by the waist-high weeds and the apparent absence of the orange trees that were her uncle’s main topic of conversation when he was alive.

Initially, life for the family is a struggle but Ba Ba manages to find work and a small car to transport the family and Meixing starts school, wearing cast-off uniform that one of the neighbours gives to her. Here, she struggles to fit in as she does not have enough language to make herself understood and when one of her new classmates steals her grandmother’s ring, Meixing is powerless to stop her. Later that day, Meixing overhears her parents arguing about how they can make ends meet before her father hurriedly leaves the house.

Not knowing how to comfort her mother, or what she should do, Meixing makes her way out to the back garden and notices a cat that she has seen before around the house entering the glasshouse there, and on the spur of the moment decides to go in. Inside, she is surprised to find that the glasshouse is not at all what it appears to be from outside and in fact contains an orchard of orange trees. Going in further, Meixing meets First Uncle who asks her if she would like to plant something. As she waters the tiny seed she has chosen, she sees her whole life appear in front of her, from when she was a tiny baby living on an island to her time now, and the tiny seed miraculously transforms into a multitude of forget-me-not flowers.

When things go from bad to worse for Meixing and her mother, her only source of comfort is visiting the glasshouse. As Ma Ma starts to find her new life harder and harder, gradually Meixing starts to find friends in two boys with whom she finds herself working in school. With the help of her magical glasshouse, will she be able to find her way in this new and strange culture? How and why is the house able to change itself? And will Meixing be able to show her mother that all is not yet lost?

As I said earlier, I cannot ever remember reading a story written in the second person – in school I have always told my children that it just doesn’t happen. I am quite happy to stand corrected because in this instance, it works extremely well – lending the book a very personal, almost eerie, quality in the way that the story hooks you in.

I think that almost inevitably this book will draw a lot of comparisons with Front Desk. In common with Mia in that story, Meixing’s parents have uprooted their family in the hopes of a better future for their daughter and both girls have a great deal of courage, common sense and a keen sense of duty. Where Mia has a burning sense of optimism though, and soon makes friends with the residents of the motel that her parents run, Meixing does not have the same good fortune; it takes her a long time to find allies in any of the children she meets at school, and for much of the story she is almost entirely reliant on both herself and the sanctuary of the glasshouse to get her through the challenges that life throws at her.

Rearing its ugly head throughout the book is the terrible racism that Meixing and other immigrants to the New Land face. Most of this is presented in the form of really quite appalling posters which are stuck up in an extremely cowardly, anonymous fashion but towards the end of the book there is an incident involving the heavily pregnant Ma Ma which I found quite shocking, and which is – very sadly – all too believable.

Much of the story’s credibility must stem from this being semi-autobiographical – the author was herself a child immigrant – and it is clear from reading the notes at the back of the book that her experiences have heavily influenced this writing in her own voice. Because of some of the content, I would say this is definitely a book for upper KS2 or KS3, where it could be used in class to start some great discussions about immigration, bullying and racism.

Huge thanks must go to Usborne Books and Net Galley for my advance read ahead of publication on 10th June. 5 out of 5 stars.

I am very sorry to say that this book didn’t work for me, and I DNF’ed it at 35%.

My main problem lay with the characters. We follow a young girl and her parents as they migrate to Australia. I realize the author based this on her own experience, so it pains me to say that I found the characters really frustrating and annoying. I do have to mention that my husband is also an immigrant (from Africa, to Europe), and his experience has been very different. Yes, my presence and time will be part of that. But his attitude was also very different from this family which I feel has made it a lot easier for him.

I don’t really understand why this family decided to move to a different country, as they don’t seem to make any effort to make it work. I guess it was to give their daughter and unborn child a better life…. so then I really don’t understand why the mother refuses to see a doctor when the pregnancy is clearly not going as it should. They also demand straight A’s from our 7yr old girl, but at no point give her a chance or even remotely help her to get settled into her new environment. I also found it really annoying how our main character would make such a problem in her head about the fact that she was wearing BOY’S SHOES!!! Who cares? (sorry, I get really annoyed when people make a Massive deal about wearing second hand clothes).

Mom completely relies on their also Asian neighbour to provide them with food and cooking, for weeks. Dad complains about the fact that he has to do manual labour (instead of being happy that he managed to even get a job within a week of being in the country and not speaking the language).

All of this is then combined with the fact that the book is written in second person. You are the 7yr old girl who is left to deal with it all on her own. And all I could think was ‘no, I would never do/think that’. ‘no, my family would never make victims of themselves so much’.

And then a traumatic event happens. I cry really easy. And I felt absolutely nothing here (apart from minor hate towards the mother). So I decided it was enough for me. I have to say that the magical realism aspects in this book were interesting, but not nearly enough for me to keep going.

I do appreciate that this is an important own-voices story that can be incredibly helpful to kids with a migration background, and inform everyone else about the experience. But I couldn’t relate it to the experience me and the Husband are having regarding it. By the time he will get his Dutch passport, it will have taken us 10 years of struggle to fulfill all the requirements, pass the exams and get all the paperwork sorted. Knowing how much effort he has to put into this, I couldn’t deal with these parents who mainly just felt sorry for themselves.