Stella by Starlight

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Stella by Starlight Cover Book

Stella by Starlight is a historical fiction novel written by Sharon M. Draper. School Library Journal review this book as presents “storytelling at its finest” in this New York Times bestselling Depression-era novel about a young girl who must learn to be brave in the face of violent prejudice when the Ku Klux Klan reappears in her segregated southern town. [1] Sharon is also known as the author of many books for teens, including the New York Times bestsellers Copper Sun, the 2007 Coretta Scott King Award winner, and We Beat the Street. [2]

Plot

Stella lives in the segregated South—in Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she can’t. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasn’t bothered them for years. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they’re never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination. As Stella’s community—her world—is upended, she decides to fight fire with fire. And she learns that ashes don’t necessarily signify an end. [3]

Controversy

The book has a background in 1932 and segregation is the law of the land in little Bumblebee, N.C., where the divisions between the black and white communities have deep roots. Stella's school is rundown, the books outdated, while the "white" school boasts strong academics and athletic facilities that Stella and her friends envy. The one real industry in town, a lumber mill, employs very few black men, and those who do find work there hold the lowest-paying jobs in the mill. The black population of Bumblebee suffers daily indignities, humiliations, and sometimes violence. As far as Stella knows, this is just how things are: "Every Negro family in Bumblebee knew the unwritten rules — they had to take care of their own problems and take care of one another. Help from the white community was neither expected nor considered. It was as it had always been." segregation between the blacks and whites in Bumblebee. The white children attend one school, with better facilities and materials, while the black school receives the white school’s hand-me-downs. The only black doctor is the father of Stella’s friend, Tony Hawkins. The white physician, Dr. Packard, only treats white people. [4]

Black Empowerment

This book not only showing the racism and discrimination that the black community went through, but it also shows that there are people who think segregation is not needed and care about the wellbeing of this community. It shows when the Klan burns down a neighboring house, Stella is surprised by the number of white people who come to the aid of the large and now homeless family. On their way to their two schools, the daughter of the mill owner tells Stella, "I don't get why we gotta go to different schools anyway. Seems kinda stupid to me." And Stella herself saves the life of a white girl her own age, the daughter of the evil Dr. Packard, who has fallen into the pond in a not-very-convincing attempt to get her father's attention. This book also shows that even while facing difficulties, the community could stay together and fight injustices. Such as when the knowledge that the Ku Klux Klan is active in their community, Stella, her family, and other members of their community band together to stand strong against the injustices of racism. [5]


References

  1. Stella by Starlight. Simon & Schuster. Retrieved January 31 2021.
  2. Sharon M. Draper. Scholastic. Retrieved January 31 2021.
  3. Stella by Starlight. Amazon. Retrieved January 31 2021.
  4. Stella by Starlight. Pluggedin. Retrieved January 31 2021.
  5. Stella By Starlight. Indie Bound. Retrieved January 31 2021.