Shooting for Stars
Christine Webb
Peachtree Teen
Published May 21, 2024
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About Shooting for Stars
A charming romantic dramedy from the author of The Art of Insanity
High schooler Skyler Davidson spends most of her time with her pet rat, Five. The daughter of scientists, she’s determined to finish her late mother’s research on neutron stars. So she teams up with aspiring videographer, Cooper, to film a submission for a NASA internship—all while keeping it a secret from her dad, who doesn’t expect any trouble from his obviously college-bound daughter.
As Skyler and Cooper grow closer, it turns out that Skyler’s dad has a new love interest as a hot makeup influencer who likes to put her nose where it doesn’t belong. She’ll keep hush on Skyler’s NASA plans, if Skyler agrees to get to know her. Now Skyler’s tangled up in a budding romance, an unexpected friendship, and the stress of having to retake her SATs.
Will Skyler’s dream of stars collapse and explode, or can dad and daughter reconcile and change their trajectory?
My Review
Skylar is one of those characters who has a really niche interest that informs how she thinks about a lot of things. In this case, it’s her interest in chemistry. When she meets someone, she evaluates what element they are based on personality traits and the qualities of the element. For example, the boy she’s attracted to is gold because it’s malleable, and he goes with the flow. Also, it’s quite an attractive element.
At the beginning of the book, Skylar has a pet rat named Five which she tries to think of as a lab rat, but which we know she has deep affection for. I love the relationship between them, and the way the author describes Five doing different things is so cute and engaging. I had such a great time reading the scenes with the two of them.
Skylar and Cooper’s relationship is also amazing. While he’s much more easygoing than she is, they don’t have a “boy teaches sheltered girl about relationships” kind of experience, which I very much appreciated. It felt like a more balanced connection, where she has some big blind spots, but he does, too. They challenge one another sometimes, but at other times, they just interact as they are. It felt natural and realistic.
Skylar also has an unexpected friendship with Cooper’s sister and her dad’s new girlfriend, Charli. I liked the way both of those relationships impacted the story. Neither was perfect, but both are meaningful.
There’s a point in the book where a lot of things come together, and it made me realize how well those pieces had been set up in the first place. I enjoyed the book up until that point, but when I hit this coming-together moment, it had a huge emotional impact, which I think is exactly what the author was going for. And it worked!
Content Notes for Shooting for Stars
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Representation
Skylar might be neurodiverse, but if so, she doesn’t share a formal diagnosis.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.
Spiritual Content
At one point, something scary happens, and Skylar comments that she doesn’t believe in God, but this scary moment makes her pray anyway, just in case.
Violent Content
References to Skylar’s mom’s death. References to a car accident caused by cell phone use in which a girl is injured. A girl goes missing overnight. A character arrives home to emergency vehicles in their driveway and learns there was a fire.
Drug Content
None.
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