The Stars Beneath Our Feet

The Stars Beneath Our Feet
Davis Barclay Moore
Random House/Penguin, 2017 285 pages
Grades 5-8
Realistic Fiction

Lolly is struggling to put one foot in front of the other. He has lost his beloved older brother to gang violence during the past year and he and his family are still reeling from the loss. Lolly's Harlem neighborhood is one of boarders and gang control. Two older boys have been hassling Lolly and his best friend Vega. If they got in with a gang the older boys would no longer be a threat. Lolly finds solace in building with Legos. His mother's girlfriend brings him a large garbage bag filled with the plastic bricks that the toy store where she works was throwing away. Lolly immerses himself in constructing an imaginary city that offers both an escape and a place to vent his creativity and grief. When the apartment becomes too small to house Lolly's city he moves it to the aftercare program he attends. An autistic home-schooled girl named Big Rose joins him in the janitor's room at aftercare and builds right along side Lolly, finding her own style, yet also some therapeutic healing. Yvonne keeps supplying new Legos, Lolly and Big Rose keep building and slowly become friends, and word gets out about their amazing work. Eventually the cities must be dismantled and major changes occur to both Big Rose and within Lolly's own family.  The nasty older boys jump Lolly and Vega, stealing their phones and prompting Vega to get a weapon and consider joining a gang for protection. How will Lolly weather the changes? Will he be able to overcome the grief and guilt surrounding his brother's death, find his own inner strength and place in the world and do the right thing when tricky situations arise? The story offers no easy answers, but leaves the reader with a sense of hope and affirmation that Lolly will be okay.

First time author, David Barclay Moore, offers a gritty urban story with a lot of heart and eventual hope. Lolly is struggling with grief, poverty, and an unsafe environment. Luckily, he has a supportive family, an aftercare program with caring adults, and some good friends. He also has Legos. I love that Lolly finds healing within this building tool and Moore shows kids that when life is tough, find something that you love and make your world beautiful. Through the Legos Lolly finds a creative outlet, a new friend, and learns about the architecture of New York City. The adults in this novel are flawed, yet present, and clearly care for Lolly. Without their support he would not have a chance resisting the brotherhood of the neighborhood gang. There is both racial and gender diversity within the pages of this book, but it is not the point of the story. Among the many themes of the book I love that Moore highlights the transporting and healing power of art, whether it's music (which saves Vega) or Legos and architecture (which saves Lolly and Big Rose). School administrators should read this story and think twice before cutting the arts in school budgets, a dangerous trend which is hitting schools everywhere. The title of the book refers to a poem that states when the ones we love die their souls become stars. The bodies may be underground, but the souls are stars beneath our feet, This is shared by Big Rose and helps guide Lolly on his path to mourn his lost brother. All of the characters in this story face some important decisions and some of them make the right ones and some don't. By the end of the book the reader is left hopeful that Lolly and his loved ones are on the right path. Moore leaves the reader with a final thought about the importance of decisions and that what we choose will dictate the future. Hopefully this story will get in the hands of young people who need it and can learn from Lolly's choices and maybe find an artistic outlet of their own.