Wish on All the Stars

by Lisa Schroeder

  I looked around at all the people who had come together to celebrate the love of two people. My heart felt big. Full. Happy.

  Family isn’t just who you live with. It’s not just the people you’re related to. It’s the people who know you’re scared of sharks and try to protect you from them. It’s the people who say, “Come to my house anytime, you’re always welcome here.” It’s the people who listen when you need to talk and make you laugh when you need it the most.

  I couldn’t make Carmen’s wish come true—to have her dad back and both of her parents safe in the place they called home. But I could love her. Love them. Like family. Because aren’t we all a part of the same large family, just trying to do the best we can?

  I grabbed Ana’s hands and held them in mine as we swung back and forth. She tilted her head back and laughed. I told myself to remember that moment and write about it in my notebook of beautiful things later. Because there was nothing, absolutely nothing, more beautiful than seeing her happy like that.

  “We are family,” I sang to her.

  I hoped she knew how much I meant it.

  Back in third grade, my teacher, Mrs. Arlington, called me “quirky” in my report card. To describe my personality. Mom said quirky isn’t bad, it just means I like to do things differently. Like, when Mrs. Arlington gave us an assignment to write a letter to our hero, I wrote to my cat. Everyone else wrote to an athlete or a movie star or to a special family member. In my letter, I made a list of seven reasons why my cat was my hero. For example, when I first wake up, and Casper is asleep at the foot of my bed, he lets me pet his super-soft belly and it’s the most comforting thing you could ever imagine.

  I like lists; they make me feel good. But if I’d written to a movie star, I would have been lucky to come up with even one thing, much less a whole list.

  Sometimes, though, I wonder if I’m too quirky. Or unusual—the word Mom uses when she talks about my art and lists. She says it’s “unusual” that I love messy art projects as much as I love organizing everything into detailed lists. To me, that’s like saying it’s unusual if you like both cats and dogs. Why not both?

  For some reason, I was thinking about that as I walked out the door and down a path that runs across one quiet street before landing at the boardwalk of Mission Beach. It was pretty crowded—lots of people walking, running, and riding bikes. At least our cottage wasn’t super close to the amusement park. It’s always packed down there. I crossed over into the sand, and as I looked out at the big, blue ocean, the warm sun on my face, I felt a little bit better about life in that moment. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe I’d make some new friends right away. Maybe the three of us would get along just fine without Dad around.

  Or maybe I was unusual and delusional. That was probably it.

  I kicked off my flip-flops, picked them up, and walked toward the ocean in the coarse, hot sand. It was a clear March day with hardly a cloud in the sky. I took a deep breath of the salty air and sat down. A few feet ahead of me, closer to the water, a dark-haired girl who looked about my age and a younger boy were making a fancy sand castle with large turrets and a moat around it. The whole thing looked like something you’d see in a sand castle–building contest. I turned and watched a teen girl play Frisbee with her black Lab. She’d throw the Frisbee at him and he’d jump up and catch it. They did it over and over again. It was amazing.

  Mom’s phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see what was happening. It was a text from Dad.

  That child support amount is unacceptable. Come on, Wendy. Be reasonable.

  I rolled my eyes as I clicked off the screen. Please. Stop.

  LISA SCHROEDER is the author of twenty books for young readers, including See You on a Starry Night, Keys to the City, Sealed with a Secret, My Secret Guide to Paris, and the Charmed Life series. She loves tea and cookies, flowers, family hikes, books and movies that make her laugh and cry, and sunshine. Living in Oregon, she doesn’t get nearly enough sunshine, but the hikes are amazing. You can visit her online at lisaschroederbooks.com and on Instagram at @lisaschroeder15.

  ALSO BY LISA SCHROEDER

  See You on a Starry Night

  My Secret Guide to Paris

  Sealed with a Secret

  Keys to the City

  Charmed Life:

  #1: Caitlin’s Lucky Charm

  #2: Mia’s Golden Bird

  #3: Libby’s Sweet Surprise

  #4: Hannah’s Bright Star

  It’s Raining Cupcakes

  Sprinkles and Secrets

  Frosting and Friendship

  Nora loves everything about Paris, from the Eiffel Tower to chocolat chaud. Of course, she’s never actually been there—she’s only visited through her grandma Sylvia’s stories. And just when they’ve finally planned a trip together, Grandma Sylvia is suddenly gone, taking Nora’s dreams with her.

  Nora is crushed. She misses her grandmother terribly, but she still wants to see the city they both loved. So when Nora finds letters and a Paris treasure map among her grandma Sylvia’s things, she dares to dream again …

  She’s not sure what her grandma wants her to find, but Nora knows there are wonderful surprises waiting for her in Paris. And maybe, amongst the croissants and macarons, she’ll even find a way to heal her broken heart.

  When Phoebe finds a beautiful antique at a flea market, she’s not sure if it’s as valuable as it looks. But inside she discovers something truly amazing—a letter, written during World War II, from a young girl to her sister who’s been evacuated from London. The letter includes a “spell” for bringing people closer together: a list of clues leading all through the city. Each stop along the way adds up to magic.

  Phoebe is stunned. Not only has she found a priceless piece of history, but the letter is exactly what she needs—she’s also separated from her sister, though not by distance. Alice leaves for university soon, but in the meantime, she wants nothing to do with Phoebe. They used to be so close. Now that Phoebe has this magical list, maybe she can fix everything! That is, unless she accidentally makes everything worse instead …

  Lindy can’t wait for summer. Her family has moved to a beautiful old brownstone in New York City, where her parents are opening a bed-and-breakfast. She’ll meet new people, visit her friends in Brooklyn, and spend lots of time curled up with a good book.

  Or so she thought. Right before school ends, Lindy’s class gets a summer assignment: to find their “true passion.” Something they love and that they’re good at. Something special. Their thing.

  So much for a relaxing summer.

  Then some new friends offer to help Lindy explore the city and go on adventures to find her passion. Lindy isn’t sure it’ll work, but New York is a big place. If the city can help Lindy unlock her potential, maybe the key to the perfect summer will be hers after all …

  Copyright © 2019 by Lisa Schroeder

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

  First edition, July 2019

  Jacket design by Yaffa Jaskoll

  Jacket illustrations by Maeve Norton

  Jacket photograph by Michael Frost, © 2019 Scholastic Inc. Stock photos © Shutterstock: sky: sumroeng chinnapan/Shutterstock; roller coaster: Karin Hildebrand Lau/Shutterstock; sand: Ian D Fairbairn/Shutterstock

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-19579-8

  All rights
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