A Glasshouse of Stars: Winner of the CBCA Book of the Year Younger Readers 2022

Author(s): Shirley Marr

Children Fiction

An exquisite, heartbreakingly beautiful gem of a novel for anyone who loved Wonder, Lenny's Book of Everything, A Monster Calls or When You Reach Me.'Heart-twisting and hopeful, bursting with big feelings and gentle magic. This is a special book from a powerful, compassionate new voice in children's literature, destined to be read and loved for generations and held close in many hearts (including mine).' - Jessica Townsend, New York Times bestselling author of the Nevermoor seriesMeixing Lim and her family have arrived at the New House in the New Land, inherited from First Uncle who died tragically and unexpectedly while picking oranges in the backyard. Everything is vast and unknown to Meixing and not in a good way, including the house she has dubbed Big Scary. She is embarrassed by the second-hand shoes given to her by the kind neighbours, has trouble understanding the language at school, and with fitting in and making new friends. Her solace is a glasshouse in the garden that inexplicably holds the sun and the moon and all the secrets of her memory and imagination. Her fragile universe is rocked when tragedy strikes and Ma Ma refuses to face the world outside. Meixing finds herself trapped within the shrinking walls of Big Scary. Her parents said this would be a better life for them all, but it feels like the worst and most heart-breaking experience of Meixing's entire existence. Surviving will take all the resilience and inner belief of this brave girl to turn their world around.


Product Information

The Publisher has generously made teaching resources available for this book.  Click here.

CBCA Shortlist, 2022

The author says... I wrote a Glasshouse of Stars hoping to connect with readers over my personal experiences of childhood migration - whether they be migrants themselves or someone in any situation in life looking to find their place in the world. To be shortlisted by the CBCA is such an honour. When I was in primary school and still learning to read English, I knew that if I went to the library and sought out the books with the "special stickers" on the covers that they would inspire me along my journey. So it is an unbelievable feeling to see everything come full circle - that the book I wrote myself now wears the same sticker!

General Fields

  • : 9781760899547
  • : PENGUIN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
  • : Puffin
  • : 0.258
  • : April 2021
  • : 2 Centimeters X 13 Centimeters X 19.7 Centimeters
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Shirley Marr
  • : Paperback
  • : en
  • : 823.92