Starry, Starry Night: Three Holiday Stories
Grade 7 Up-Three stories that feature different heroines, each with a problem. Even though 15-year-old Melanie is slightly embarrassed about her 42-year-old mother's pregnancy, she finds herself becoming more excited about the baby as time passes. She and her parents are devastated when the baby is born without part of its brain. Brenda, a high school junior, has a secret crush on a young man who attends a military academy. Her life becomes complicated when she learns that a local cancer patient has a crush on her. Finally, Ellie Matthias is having difficulty with her boyfriend until she befriends a secretive girl who helps her put things into perspective. All of the stories are loosely tied to the Christmas season. They are absorbing, the characters are well developed, and the author does not resolve the girls' dilemmas with pat solutions. While the cover illustration suggests a younger audience, this has solid YA appeal. Fans of McDaniel's inspirational fiction will enjoy this as will others who have not discovered her work.Mary M. Hopf, Los Angeles Public LibraryCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.