Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Wild, imaginative finale of alt-New York fantasy series.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
THE MAP OF STARS finds Tess and Theo Biedermann, now 13, reeling from the events of Book 2, especially the discovery that somehow, mysteriously, they are profoundly connected to the long-lost Morningstarr twins. Also shocked, their best friend Jaime, who really doesn't know what to believe or who to trust. Back in the 19th century, the Morningstarrs invented the mechanical marvels and architectural wonders that define this version of New York, then vanished as mysteriously as they'd arrived -- but not before embedding clues to a cipher that would save the city in time of peril. Or so the legend has it. The kids are racing against time with ever-greater urgency as a villain is bent on "modernizing" New York by destroying the Morningstarr-built infrastructure. And he's not about to let a bunch of kids stop him.
Is It Any Good?
Laura Ruby winds up her alt-New York trilogy in an exciting, twisty adventure. There's a raft of plot complications, cartoonish villains, strange riddles, and three brainy young heroes who just want to save their homes and families. The Map of Stars often has its readers as well as its characters wondering "Wait, what just happened?" as Theo, Tess, and Jaime race against time to solve a centuries-old puzzle by the architects of their fictional New York's mechanical marvels. Indeed, before it all winds up, mad scientists, experimental hybrid monsters, time travel, and parallel universes have entered the picture. Not everyone will be satisfied with the resolutions of all the plot threads, but they'll have a hard time putting this final tale down until they're through.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about stories set in alternative, fictional, and definitely different versions of places that exist in our world, like like The Map of Stars. Do you like being able to imagine how things might be different if something in the past had taken a different turn? Does it make you see our world differently?
Do you think time travel is something we'll be able to do someday? If you could travel in time, where and when -- would you go?
What other stories do you know where the main characters are twins? How does being twins affect their lives compared with those of their non-twin friends?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Walden Pond Press
- Publication date : May 12, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 528
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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