Counting Stars
David Almond

Hodder Children's Books 2001

182p pbk $16.50

ISBN: 0-340-78480-6

David Almond's extraordinary novels have established him as an author of unique insight and skill. These stories encapsulate his endless sense of mystery and wonderment. This is a collection of exquisite sensitivity and tenderness about the struggles and joys of a very catholic, second-class family, but the writing style and structure did not appeal to me. 

Counting Stars is a collection of short stories about different aspects and times in the same family’s life. The story is written through the eyes of a teenage boy, the third in a five-child family, so everything is given in a young perspective. Each story is well written and captivating with strong character descriptions throughout. My one major complaint with the book was that the stories were not written in chronological order. The author jumped through months and years, back and forward without warning or obvious need. For example in one story we read about the father and son at the fair and the next we are a year after the father dies. That disturbed me and made the book harder to read, as you must work out where you are in each story.

My other grudge with the story was that the characters were never fully established. We were left guessing characters’ age and appearance and even the time setting was never stated. This made the book challenging for me to read, as I could not place the events in my mind. The book was enjoyable. The overall story was brilliant and moving. Each individual story was comprehensive and entertaining. I liked this book though it was not as good as expected.