Counting Stars

David Almond draws on his own Catholic childhood in northeast England for this collection of eighteen linked vignettes, blending memory and imagination in what he calls 'truth and lies.' Death, illness, loss, faith, and a sense of quiet magic running through ordinary life are the recurring threads. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review and called it 'evocative'; Kirkus noted experiences that are 'shocking, some uplifting, obliquely amusing, even magical.' The literary prose is genuinely beautiful — Almond is a Carnegie Medal winner, and it shows. Faith appears here as a natural dimension of family life rather than a lesson, which makes it feel honest rather than didactic. The honest caveat is that the cultural and chronological distance from modern young readers can feel significant, and some stories are emotionally heavy for younger middle-grade readers. Worth the patience.