February 6, 2017

On My Bookshelf: Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

If you couldn't get enough of the characters from Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter, you'll want to read this collection of short stories. Stars Above gives insight into many of the characters' beginnings plus provides a happily ever after ending to the saga. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.
The basic plot from Amazon: The enchantment continues. . . . The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories - and secrets - that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories - five of which have never before been published - and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer's novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

Why I liked it: I loved the Lunar

Chronicles and Stars Above gave me just a little more insight into many of the characters' beginnings as well as a "happily ever after" that wasn't part of the original series. There is a chapter devoted to how Wolf became part of Queen Levana's army, Winter and Jacuin's childhood friendship, how Scarlet came to live with her grandmother, Cinder's introduction to her adopted family, Carswell''s misadventures in school, Cinder and the Prince's first meeting told from his point of view, and how Cress became trapped in her satellite. 
If you couldn't get enough of the characters from Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter, you'll want to read this collection of short stories. Stars Above gives insight into many of the characters' beginnings plus provides a happily ever after ending to the saga. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.

Classroom application: Introduce students to the concept of fan fiction, fiction about characters or settings from an original work of fiction, created by fans of that work rather than by its creator. You could have them check out a few sites to see if any fan fiction exists for any of their favorite stories (if you have younger students you may want to preview the sites or even specific stories to make sure the content is PG enough).

Once students get the idea, have them write short stories about characters in their favorite novel or a recently read whole class novel. The short stories should give backstory that the original novel did not include or pick up where the original novel ended. The challenge is incorporating details from the original text and maintaining consistency.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Stars Above for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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