A Star Is Born (Cruisers Series #3)

by Walter Dean Myers

Overview

Bestselling award-winning author Walter Dean Myers is back with a new book in his acclaimed Cruisers series.

The Cruiser, an alternative newspaper published by Zander and his crew of middle school misfits, is alive and well. And now there's plenty to report on when LaShonda, one of the Cruisers, steps into the spotlight with her costume designs for an upcoming play. LaShonda's designs get rave reviews, but she soon learns that show business is filled with challenges and choices. LaShonda is forced to consider what's more important--fame, or loyalty to her autistic brother. Whether she gets a standing ovation or the curtain pulled down on her is up to LaShonda. And she can't help but wonder if the Cruisers have got her back and will be there for her whether she’s center stage or waiting in the wings.

With signature humor and thought-provoking questions, Walter Dean Myers once again delivers a Cruisers novel that will keep readers at the edge of their seats, and have them applauding after the drama ends on the book’s last page.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780439916288
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2012
Series:	Cruisers Series , #3
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	810L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Walter Dean Myers is the critically acclaimed NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of more than eighty books for children and young adults. His award-winning body of work includes SUNRISE OVER FALLUJAH, FALLEN ANGELS, SOMEWHERE IN THE DARKNESS, SLAM!, JAZZ, HARLEM SUMMER. Mr. Myers has received two Newbery Honors and five Coretta Scott King Awards. In addition, he is the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

The challenges continue for the Cruisers, a group of friends who do not quite fit the mold at their New York school for gifted middle school students. They produce an alternative school newspaper and often lock horns with the administration. Zander has written a play parodying Shakespeare's well known characters, which features dazzling costumes designed by LaShonda. Her talent catches the eye of a civic organization, which offers LaShonda a scholarship package including housing and future college options. At first, she sees this as tremendous opportunity, but concerns soon arise. The housing offered is for LaShonda only, it does not include her autistic brother with whom she lives at a group home. Forced to choose between her future career and her much loved brother, LaShonda seeks the help of the Cruisers to make her decision. The third book in The Cruisers series finds Zander and his friends facing several contemporary issues, including caring for an autistic sibling, dealing with divorced parents, and addressing housing options for children living alone. This book is fast paced and features a variety of formats including newspaper articles, poems, text messages, and scripts. Existing fans of the series will enjoy this new entry, but new readers can also jump right in to this third volume and pick up the plotline easily. The story holds a great deal of appeal for readers of varying skill levels. Like many Walter Dean Myers titles before it, this book is a solid addition to a collection for readers of middle school age and up. Reviewer: Sherrie Williams

VOYA - Sherrie Williams

In the third installment of the series, Myers offers another slice of middle school life at Harlem's Da Vinci Academy for gifted and talented students. For 14-year-old LaShonda Powell, real life is a lot tougher than solving for x and y in algebra class. She's been offered a full scholarship to the Virginia Woolf Society Program for Young Ladies, thanks to her costume designs for the recent class play, and if she completes the program, she'll qualify for future college scholarships. The problem is that LaShonda lives in a group home with her autistic brother, Chris, and the two are inseparable. Narrator Zander Scott understands LaShonda's situation: "You can jump on a scholarship if you're jumping by yourself, but if you have a little brother to take care of, as LaShonda did, things get hard in a hurry." It's a tough issue for a group of middle school students who care for one another and take pride in having one another's backs. Myers has accomplished something special with this series, crafting a seemingly simple story that is really surprisingly rich, handling big themes of friendship, family, education and dreams. This fine volume easily stands on its own, but readers will look forward to the fourth book, already in the works. (Fiction. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews