Every Soul a Star

“We all have things to offer the world. My beauty is what I have to give.” 

Bree’s stunning confession early on reveals how completely she perceives herself and the world based on appearances. In addition, the comment, which Bree offers without apology, reveals how much of a child she still is despite her grown-up attitude.

“He taught me how to tell the difference between the real world and when you’re dreaming. And when you learn to recognize the difference, you can control your dreams. You can do all sorts of things, but I like to fly.”

As part of his long history of counseling, Jack recalls one doctor who defined for him why his lucid dreaming interludes were so critical to his emotional stability: Directing dreams gives Jack a sense of empowerment that his family life has denied him. 

“Not that I have the slightest idea what makes someone a hottie or even if it’s a good thing to be. Or why, according to Ryan, I’m not one.”

Ally struggles with unexpected tensions in her longtime summer friendship with the older Ryan. Out of the blue, he introduces her to entirely new concerns over her appearance. Ryan, a year older, shows an interest in how girls look, a new idea for Ally. 

“Maybe being in Purgatory is, like, my test.” 

Bree is certain initially that Moon Shadow is somehow punishment for her; later she will compare it to “that other place” (116). This comment marks the first indication that she is ready to see the three years she and her family will spend at the camp as a potential for her to change and grow.

“Ready for the adventure of a lifetime?” 

On the bus to Moon Shadow, Mr. Silver, the science teacher, tries to rally Jack, who seems at this point aloof and detached from the excitement of the once-in-a-lifetime eclipse. The comment takes on thematic importance as the narrators each undergo a significant emotional adventure that changes their lives. 

“And it changes everything around you. It changes you, too, on the inside.” 

Part of Stella’s exuberant description of the eclipse to a doubting Jack, this comment is the earliest indication that the three narrators are in for more than witnessing an astronomical event. 

“All I want to do is fall asleep so I can fly, but sleep just won’t come.”

The novel traces the gradual emotional growth of each of the three narrators. Here Jack is scared. He is alone for the first time in his young life, in the hotel room where the bus stops on the trip to Moon Shadow. His insomnia suggests that he is beginning to engage with the anxieties of his life without retreating into a dream world.  

“One great thing about coming here […] is that nothing ever changes. It’s like whenever I come back here, no time has passed at all.” 

Ryan is wrong about Moon Shadow, as the reader comes to see. His comment suggests how Moon Shadow has become for Ally what the treehouse is for Jack and what her school is for Bree: a safe place where a kid is never expected to grow up.

“You and Kenny need to learn to live in the world. We can’t keep you tucked away here forever.”

When Mrs. Summers tells Ally that the family is moving back to Chicago, Ally is devastated, certain that her world is gone. The mother’s wisdom, which suggests the nature of childhood itself, indicates the potential for the move to help Ally grow into an adult. 

“I totally don’t want your life. Trust me on that one.” 

Bree’s comment to Ally reflects her insensitivity, certainly, but also her immaturity. Like a petulant child, she dismisses without any evidence the potential for the move to Moon Shadow to benefit her.

“Look, let’s just go to dinner and we’ll sit by ourselves and work on our plan.” 

The decision Ally and Bree make to hatch a Parent Trap-style scheme to trick their parents into canceling their moves reflects more than their desperation. This alliance marks a first for both girls: Bree has never bonded with a girl not in her clique, and Ally has only had imaginary friends.

“I feel like I’m wearing a costume, one that doesn’t fit quite right.” 

Bree’s initial dress panic represents her transformation into a new person. The boxes with her stylish clothes are delayed, and Bree must temporarily borrow from Ally’s far more practical, far less stylish wardrobe. Initially she judges herself entirely by her appearance.

“I’ve just heard about people like you eating weird animals.” 

Bree must learn not to judge people based on stereotypes. Here, before heading to the camp pavilion for a welcome barbeque, Bree simply assumes the camp will be serving something weird, like buffalo or moose. 

“They got a grant to study something that’s supposed to take up a lot of space, you know, in outer space. Like almost all of the universe is supposedly made up of it.” 

For Mass, science offers a wealth of lessons. Although Bree has no idea about dark energy, the research work her parents are doing suggests exactly what she will learn: the lesson of community. Team Exo shows her that people are more connected than she suspects. 

“I don’t know what possesses me, maybe the fact that guys who look like him […] don’t usually ask me to do anything with them, but I say, ‘Okay.’” 

Jack cannot figure out why he agrees to accompany Ryan, an older kid, a jock he just met at camp, to go work out with weights. The reader suspects Jack is ready not to be alone.  

“I make a decision. I’m not going to screw up again. Those days are gone.” 

Jack begins the novel a misfit with low self-esteem who dreams of being a superhero. After actually saving the kid with the peanut allergy, Jack is ready now to assert his worth, to stop escaping into his fantasy world, and most important to stop being his own worst enemy.

“How am I going to survive in a real school if I can’t even brush my hair?” 

Ally’s family’s approaching move back to the city suddenly exposes her—so smart and self-possessed—to everything she does not know or always dismissed as unimportant. With this question, Ally shows that she is ready now to learn what she doesn’t know. 

“Life is short, but it’s wide.” 

Stella’s advice to Bree summarizes what each narrator comes to learn about how much there is to learn and how important it is to enjoy that life education. 

“We’re Team Exo […]. We look after our own.” 

Jack’s exclamation after the kids have managed to move all the expensive computer equipment to safety in a shed amid a breaking summer storm indicates the importance of others and how much a person can achieve as part of a team.

“But I try to make the best of things, and that’s all I’m suggesting.” 

Ryan brings a sobering dimension to the Team Exo project when he confesses during the night of the storm that his grandparents have filed for divorce and that he is uncertain about how to handle it. He is slightly older than the other kids. His advice here carries weight, and it registers with each of the narrators. 

“My inner geek has been released.” 

Bree agrees at last to peer into the telescope. She takes in the majesty of the night sky. Overcome with emotion, she taps into a love of science that she could never have shared with her snobby A-list friends back in her old school. 

“I feel like I could die from the beauty of it.” 

Ally at last feels the spiritual energy and the deep emotional impact of the total solar eclipse she has waited years to witness. The astronomical event is more than science; it is religious in its impact.

“It leaves me lighter and freer and for the first time since I found out about our move, I truly feel like myself again.” 

Joyously dancing in the shadow cast by the moon, Ally experiences more than the wonder of the physical world. After her experience with Team Exo, she has moved into a much broader illumination about her own identity.