Publisher's Weekly Review
Family serves as the heart of this tender novel, which follows two tightly bonded cousins across a devastating separation. The daughters of two Filipina sisters married to two white-cued American brothers, "Star Sisters" Coral and Isa have been inseparable since birth, raised together on Pebble Island, N.Y. But a crisis strikes during Coral's family sailing trip, when an earthquake in Indonesia causes a tidal wave that capsizes their boat. No survivors are reported, but Isa, unwilling to give up hope, is certain that Coral is alive: "I can feel her presence inside me, in my bones, in my gut, in my heart." And she's right: Coral is stranded alone on an island with a survival kit and a few days' rations, attempting to endure until help arrives. Employing the cousins' alternating first-person voices to portray their situations and their love across space and time, Guerrero (All You Knead Is Love) movingly portrays the toll of resilience, sorrow, and survival, seamlessly including Filipino cultural references throughout. Ages 8--12. Agent: Wendy Schmalz, Wendy Schmalz Agency. (Sept.)
Kirkus Review
Stranded on a deserted island, a 13-year-old struggles to survive while her cousin refuses to give up hope that she's alive. Coral and Isa Bituin-Rousseau may be cousins, but they're as close as siblings: Their Filipina mothers are sisters who married brothers, the girls' White American fathers. They grew up together in Pebble Island, New York, eating lobster Isa's father caught and their mothers' Filipino cooking. The two are rarely apart except when Coral and her parents go on one of their journeys to see the world. Following an earthquake and tidal wave while they are sailing through the Indonesian archipelago, Coral is thrown overboard and stranded on an uninhabited island. With the help of survival skills learned from her father and mysterious gifts of freshly killed small game, Coral keeps herself alive. But how long will it be before rescue comes? Isa, meanwhile, is left alone on Pebble Island, with parents who seem willing to abandon hope and a newly introduced cousin who Isa can't help but feel is meant to replace Coral. Partly a survival story and partly an exploration of coping with grief, heavy topics are touched upon with a soft hand. Coral's struggles and triumphs offer an introduction to the wilderness adventure genre, but more experienced readers may find her a little too lucky. Isa's story serves as a nice counterpoint to Coral's, as she struggles with moving on and forming new relationships. A survival story with some guardrails still in place. (Adventure. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Half-Filipino Coral and Isa are more than cousins: their mothers are sisters; their fathers are brothers. It is no wonder they feel as close as sisters. This bond is tested when Coral and her family set sail on a long boat trip, only to get swept up in a tidal wave. The shock hits Isa hard, and though she holds out hope, it's soon clear that she will have to accept that her "Star Sister" is gone. Except, she isn't. Across the sea, Coral washes up on the shore of a lonely tropical island. Her parents missing, and food and water dwindling, she must gather all the skills her parents taught her to survive and get back to her home. The action follows the two POVs of Coral and Isa, each girl an example of facing life with courage. While Coral lives out a harrowing survival story, Isa's story is quieter but no less intense. In this way, Guerrero adroitly unfolds this tale of grief and triumph by showing a visceral story of determination alongside the effects a tragedy has on the people left behind. This is a stirring page-turner that will move readers to appreciate the people in their lives.
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