Set along the Texas-Mexico border in the early 1900s, Shame the Stars follows the trials and heartaches of two families trying to survive the war-torn years of the Mexican Revolution while staying true to themselves and what’s right by the people and lands they’ve loved for generations.
Eighteen-year-old Joaquín del Toro lives on the expansive Las Moras ranch, where his father is responsible for much of the local economy. Joaquín’s longtime love, Dulceña Villa, helps her father run the local newspaper responsible for relaying the truth of the Mexican Revolution to the people. When the paper prints a poem anonymously written by Joaquín, it tears apart these two once-friendly families that hold contrasting opinions of how they should react to the rebellion. But when two Texas Rangers assault Joaquín and Dulceña one night, the fire of rebellion they were all trying to keep contained comes flaring out in devastating ways—making enemy and ally of the most unexpected.
Firmly grounded in real Mexican and American history, the latest novel from Pura Belpré Award-winning author Guadalupe García McCall takes this vital period and makes it relevant to a new audience—one that still feels the burn of these flames a century later.
ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read an interview with Guadalupe García McCall for Shame the Stars.
Justin Barisich is a freelancer, satirist, poet and performer living in Atlanta. More of his writing can be found at littlewritingman.com.
This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
