THE STAR SHACK

The rainy beach town of Gingerbread is Pete and Annabelle’s summer home. Despite their basic incompatibility—he’s a Red Sox fan; she roots for the Yankees—they’ve enjoyed a blossoming romance and a perfect kiss. Their differing views on astrology drive them apart until Annabelle proposes they open a business reading horoscopes for local residents. Pete starts off skeptical, but he shows a talent for astrology. His love advice produces matches made in the heavens, but Annabelle feels like she’s losing her mojo. As the business takes off, Pete and Annabelle fight more and more, to the point where each is sure they’ll never get back together. This novel gives summer romance a mystical twist with a “he said/she said” point of view, as Pete and Annabelle switch off with the first-person, present-tense narration. Although they both make stupid decisions about their relationship, in the end they realize their love is in the stars. The cast of peripheral characters is large and doesn’t allow for much development, but it’s carried well enough by Pete and Annabelle, who are smart and articulate. A starry-eyed, beachy, light romance. (Fiction. 12 & up)