Starkeeper, a Novel Excerpt

Abstract

Starkeeper is thematically concerned with coming to terms with one’s grief following the loss of a parental figure, and with feelings of isolation from one’s peers when asked to take on additional responsibilities prescribed by one’s family’s culture, all under the guise of a cross-galaxy road trip through the stars. Each of the central characters experience a sort of isolation, and the arcs of the secondary characters act as foils for the protagonist Callie’s emotional landscape. In order to reduce readers’ resistance to Starkeeper’s themes of grief and isolation, brought on by recognizing oneself in navigating Callie’s emotional landscape and those of her companions, those difficult emotional truths are enveloped in a false buffer of metaphor via the story’s speculative elements. The vast emptiness of outer space, the mirrored situations of the stars Callie encounters in her own internal journey, and the ultimate futility of wishes against natural tragedies like death and loss act as metaphors for the story’s emotional throughline. This makes the story emotionally safe and approachable for young readers, in addition to allowing for a more middle-grade friendly balance between character internality and plot-driven momentum.