by Ahmet Zappa
ALSO BY SHANA MULDOON ZAPPA AND AHMET ZAPPA
Sage and the Journey to Wishworld
Libby and the Class Election
Leona’s Unlucky Mission
Vega and the Fashion Disaster
Scarlet Discovers True Strength
Cassie Comes Through
Piper’s Perfect Dream
Astra’s Mixed-Up Mission
Tessa’s Lost and Found
ALSO BY AHMET ZAPPA
Because I’m Your Dad
The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless
DON’T MISS
A Wisher’s Guide to Starland
COMING SOON
Clover’s Parent Fix
Copyright © 2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Cover design © 2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Excerpt from Star Darlings: Clover’s Parent Fix copyright © 2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney Press, 1101 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201.
ISBN 978-1-4847-1437-9
For more Disney Press fun, visit www.disneybooks.com
Contents
Title Page
Also by Shana Muldoon Zappa and Ahmet Zappa
Copyright
Dedication
Starling Academy: Student Reports
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Preview of Star Darlings: Clover’s Parent Fix
About the Authors
Halo Violetta Zappa. You are pure light, joy, and inspiration. We love you soooooo much.
May the Star Darlings continue to shine brightly upon you. May every step upon your path be blessed with positivity and the understanding that you have the power within you to manifest the most fulfilling life you can possibly dream of and more. May you always remember that being different and true to yourself makes your inner star shine brighter. And never ever stop making wishes.
Glow for it….
Mommy and Daddy
And to everyone else here on “Wishworld”:
May you realize that no matter where you are in life, no matter what you look like or where you were born, you, too, have the power within you to create the life of your dreams. Through celebrating your own uniqueness, thinking positively, and taking action, you can make your wishes come true. May you understand that you are never alone. There is always someone near who will understand you if you look hard enough. The Star Darlings are here to remind you that there is an unstoppable energy to staying positive, wishing, and believing in yourself. That inner star shines within you.
Smile. The Star Darlings have your back.
We know how startastic you truly are.
Glow for it….
Your friends,
Shana and Ahmet
Starling Academy: Student Reports
NAME: Clover
BRIGHT DAY: January 5
FAVORITE COLOR: Purple
INTERESTS: Music, painting, studying
WISH: To be the best songwriter and DJ on Starland
WHY CHOSEN: Clover has great self-discipline, patience, and willpower. She is creative, responsible, dependable, and extremely loyal.
WATCH OUT FOR: Clover can be hard to read and she is reserved with those she doesn’t know. She’s afraid to take risks and can be a wisecracker at times.
SCHOOL YEAR: Second
POWER CRYSTAL: Panthera
WISH PENDANT: Barrette
NAME: Adora
BRIGHT DAY: February 14
FAVORITE COLOR: Sky blue
INTERESTS: Science, thinking about the future and how she can make it better
WISH: To be the top fashion designer on Starland
WHY CHOSEN: Adora is clever and popular and cares about the world around her. She’s a deep thinker.
WATCH OUT FOR: Adora can have her head in the clouds and be thinking about other things.
SCHOOL YEAR: Third
POWER CRYSTAL: Azurica
WISH PENDANT: Watch
NAME: Piper
BRIGHT DAY: March 4
FAVORITE COLOR: Seafoam green
INTERESTS: Composing poetry and writing in her dream journal
WISH: To become the best version of herself she can possibly be and to share that by writing books
WHY CHOSEN: Piper is giving, kind, and sensitive. She is very intuitive and aware.
WATCH OUT FOR: Piper can be dreamy, absentminded, and wishy-washy. She can also be moody and easily swayed by the opinions of others.
SCHOOL YEAR: Second
POWER CRYSTAL: Dreamalite
WISH PENDANT: Bracelets
NAME: Astra
BRIGHT DAY: April 9
FAVORITE COLOR: Red
INTERESTS: Individual sports
WISH: To be the best athlete on Starland—to win!
WHY CHOSEN: Astra is energetic, brave, clever, and confident. She has boundless energy and is always direct and to the point.
WATCH OUT FOR: Astra is sometimes cocky, self-centered, condescending, and brash.
SCHOOL YEAR: Second
POWER CRYSTAL: Quarrelite
WISH PENDANT: Wristbands
NAME: Tessa
BRIGHT DAY: May 18
FAVORITE COLOR: Emerald green
INTERESTS: Food, flowers, love
WISH: To be successful enough that she can enjoy a life of luxury
WHY CHOSEN: Tessa is warm, charming, affectionate, trustworthy, and dependable. She has incredible drive and commitment.
WATCH OUT FOR: Tessa does not like to be rushed. She can be quite stubborn and often says no. She does not deal well with change and is prone to exaggeration. She can be easily sidetracked.
SCHOOL YEAR: Third
POWER CRYSTAL: Gossamer
WISH PENDANT: Brooch
NAME: Gemma
BRIGHT DAY: June 2
FAVORITE COLOR: Orange
INTERESTS: Sharing her thoughts about almost anything
WISH: To be valued for her opinions on everything
WHY CHOSEN: Gemma is friendly, easygoing, funny, extroverted, and social. She knows a little bit about everything.
WATCH OUT FOR: Gemma talks—a lot—and can be a little too honest sometimes and offend others. She can have a short attention span and can be superficial.
SCHOOL YEAR: First
POWER CRYSTAL: Scatterite
WISH PENDANT: Earrings
NAME: Cassie
BRIGHT DAY: July 6
FAVORITE COLOR: White
INTERESTS: Reading, crafting
WISH: To be more independent and confident and less fearful
WHY CHOSEN: Cassie is extremely imaginative and artistic. She is a voracious reader and is loyal, caring, and a good friend. She is very intuitive.
WATCH OUT FOR: Cassie can be distrustful, jealous, moody, and brooding.
SCHOOL YEAR: First
POWER CRYSTAL: Lunalite
WISH PENDANT: Glasses
NAME: Leona
BRIGHT DAY: August 16
FAVORITE COLOR: Gold
INTERES
TS: Acting, performing, dressing up
WISH: To be the most famous pop star on Starland
WHY CHOSEN: Leona is confident, hardworking, generous, open-minded, optimistic, caring, and a strong leader.
WATCH OUT FOR: Leona can be vain, opinionated, selfish, bossy, dramatic, and stubborn and is prone to losing her temper.
SCHOOL YEAR: Third
POWER CRYSTAL: Glisten paw
WISH PENDANT: Cuff
NAME: Vega
BRIGHT DAY: September 1
FAVORITE COLOR: Blue
INTERESTS: Exercising, analyzing, cleaning, solving puzzles
WISH: To be the top student at Starling Academy
WHY CHOSEN: Vega is reliable, observant, organized, and very focused.
WATCH OUT FOR: Vega can be opinionated about everything, and she can be fussy, uptight, critical, arrogant, and easily embarrassed.
SCHOOL YEAR: Second
POWER CRYSTAL: Queezle
WISH PENDANT: Belt
NAME: Libby
BRIGHT DAY: October 12
FAVORITE COLOR: Pink
INTERESTS: Helping others, interior design, art, dancing
WISH: To give everyone what they need—both on Starland and through wish granting on Wishworld
WHY CHOSEN: Libby is generous, articulate, gracious, diplomatic, and kind.
WATCH OUT FOR: Libby can be indecisive and may try too hard to please everyone.
SCHOOL YEAR: First
POWER CRYSTAL: Charmelite
WISH PENDANT: Necklace
NAME: Scarlet
BRIGHT DAY: November 3
FAVORITE COLOR: Black
INTERESTS: Crystal climbing (and other extreme sports), magic, thrill seeking
WISH: To live on Wishworld
WHY CHOSEN: Scarlet is confident, intense, passionate, magnetic, curious, and very brave.
WATCH OUT FOR: Scarlet is a loner and can alienate others by being secretive, arrogant, stubborn, and jealous.
SCHOOL YEAR: Third
POWER CRYSTAL: Ravenstone
WISH PENDANT: Boots
NAME: Sage
BRIGHT DAY: December 1
FAVORITE COLOR: Lavender
INTERESTS: Travel, adventure, telling stories, nature, and philosophy
WISH: To become the best Wish-Granter Starland has ever seen
WHY CHOSEN: Sage is honest, adventurous, curious, optimistic, friendly, and relaxed.
WATCH OUT FOR: Sage has a quick temper! She can also be restless, irresponsible, and too trusting of others’ opinions. She may jump to conclusions.
SCHOOL YEAR: First
POWER CRYSTAL: Lavenderite
WISH PENDANT: Necklace
You take a deep breath, about to blow out the candles on your birthday cake. Clutching a coin in your fist, you get ready to toss it into the dancing waters of a fountain. You stare at your little brother as you each hold an end of a dried wishbone, about to pull. But what do you do first?
You make a wish, of course!
Ever wonder what happens right after you make that wish? Not much, you may be thinking.
Well, you’d be wrong.
Because something quite unexpected happens next. Each and every wish that is made becomes a glowing Wish Orb, invisible to the human eye. This undetectable orb zips through the air and into the heavens, on a one-way trip to the brightest star in the sky—a magnificent place called Starland. Starland is inhabited by Starlings, who look a lot like you and me, except they have a sparkly glow to their skin, and glittery hair in unique colors. And they have one more thing: magical powers. The Starlings use these powers to make good wishes come true, for when good wishes are granted, the result is positive energy. And the Starlings of Starland need this energy to keep their world running.
In case you are wondering, there are three kinds of Wish Orbs:
1) GOOD WISH ORBS. These wishes are positive and helpful and come from the heart. They are pretty and sparkly and are nurtured in climate-controlled Wish-Houses. They bloom into fantastical glowing orbs. When the time is right, they are presented to the appropriate Starling for wish fulfillment.
2) BAD WISH ORBS. These are for selfish, mean-spirited, or negative things. They don’t sparkle at all. They are immediately transported to a special containment center, as they are very dangerous and must not be granted.
3) IMPOSSIBLE WISH ORBS. These wishes are for things, like world peace and disease cures, that simply can’t be granted by Starlings. These sparkle with an almost impossibly bright light and are taken to a special area of the Wish-House with tinted windows to contain the glare they produce. The hope is that one day they can be turned into good wishes the Starlings can help grant.
Starlings take their wish granting very seriously. There is a special school, called Starling Academy, that accepts only the best and brightest young Starling girls. They study hard for four years, and when they graduate, they are ready to start traveling to Wishworld to help grant wishes. For as long as anyone can remember, only graduates of wish-granting schools have ever been allowed to travel to Wishworld. But things have changed in a very big way.
Read on for the rest of the story….
TO: Sage, Libby, Leona, Vega, Piper, Astra, Adora, Clover, and Gemma
FROM: Cassie
INSTRUCTIONS: Auto-delivery of this holo-letter scheduled for Reliquaday, in three starhours’ time
Dear Star Darlings,
Greetings and salutations, friends and fellow Star Darlings. You may be wondering why I’m sending a holo-letter when I’ve just seen you all at the ceremony. (Starkudos, Tessa, on a successful mission!) There are many answers to that question. And I’ll get to the most important one at the end of this holo-letter. So keep reading.
In short, I am writing to clarify the dangerous situation on Starland and, in doing so, explain my own actions. Wait! Don’t delete this letter! Please hear me out! (This means you, Sage and Libby, who have turned a blind eye to Lady Stella’s involvement.) And don’t roll your eyes. (This means you, Adora! I do not overreact to problems.) I am not imagining that Starland is in major trouble. It is. I am not imagining conspiracies or villains. They exist.
To support my stand, here are the issues in no particular order:
The Issues on Wishworld: Problematic Missions
Why do the Star Darlings even exist? As we all know, Lady Stella brought us together to test her theory that if the wishes of young Wishlings were to be granted by young Starlings, this special combination would produce an even greater amount of positive wish energy than older Starlings could ever collect. And now, since we know that Starland is having a serious wish energy crisis, our wish missions are even more important than ever.
Why are our Wish Missions—even the successful ones—always in danger until the last starmin? We’ve been trained and schooled and are starmendously capable, yet something always goes wrong. And that does not even take Leona’s mission into account. Not only was her Wish Pendant destroyed, making it impossible for it to absorb any wish energy, but she almost didn’t make it back on her shooting star! And she obviously (sorry, Leona!) didn’t get her Power Crystal.
The Issues with Star Darlings: 1) Fighting within Our Group and 2) Strange Behavior
(Both designed to keep us from acting together and from acting at all!)
Specifically:
Why were we fighting with our roommates? The poisonous flowers from the Isle of Misera that were placed in our rooms.
Why were all the Star Kindness Day compliments changed to insults? That one speaks for itself!
Why were we all acting so odd and not even realizing it? Because of the poisonous nail polish from the Star Darlings–only mani-pedi party! Whoever created the polish knew this strange behavior would interfere with our missions. Not to mention it was starmendously embarrassing for everyone (Libby’s falling asleep anywhere and everywhere; Scarlet’s skipping anywhere and everywhere; and probably the worst: my bragging anywhere and everywhere).
Additional Star Darlings Issues: the Band and the Star-Zap
Why was Leona’s band named the Star Darlings, with tryout info sent to the whole school? To bring our secret group into the starlight is my guess!
Why was my Star-Zap not working properly? So someone could intercept Star Darlings communication. Again, that’s my guess.
My Issue with Lady Stella: She Is Responsible for All This
(Again, Sage and Libby: hear me out.)
Specifically:
Why was Scarlet kicked out of the Star Darlings and replaced with Ophelia? To sabotage a mission, of course.
And who set that in motion? Lady Stella! She switched admissions test results so it looked like Scarlet had low scores and Ophelia’s were high as the moons. (Starkudos to Scarlet. Impressive work, really!) Then she instructed Ophelia to lie—about being an orphan, about being a gifted student, everything! And that information, Star Darlings, came from Ophelia herself.
And that, finally, brings me to the real purpose of this holo-letter.
The Real Purpose of This Holo-Letter
Why did I write it? Scarlet, Tessa, and I have decided to explore the Star Caves, deep beneath our school. We are looking for clues in the very labyrinth Lady Stella introduced us to—clues about the headmistress, clues about our missions, clues about anything and everything. (Yes, Gemma, your sister, Tessa, is with us, even though she just came back from her mission and is not a fan of dark, dank, spooky places.)
I have a feeling something big will come out of our search. We are just now setting off. But if you are reading this, it means we have not made it back. We are still underground, in the tunnels, maybe trapped and most definitely in trouble. So…help! Find us as fast as you can!
Yours in jeopardy,
Cassie
