“The Blue Star,” by Tony Earley, released in hardcover this past spring, is full of rich, honest prose that makes you feel as if you’re sitting beside a fire on summer’s night; there’s a crackle in the air, a velvet sky above you, and a gentle voice with the slightest Southern twang telling you a story that takes you to a time and place you never even knew you wanted to visit.
Jim Glass, The Blue Star’s hero, is 17 and in love. It’s the fall of 1941 and Jim lives in a rural North Carolina town with his mother and three uncles. Chrissie, the girl on whom Jim has set his sights, is part Cherokee during an era when this is an awkward but not insurmountable problem. Bucky Bucklaw is the bigger problem; he has already laid claim to Chrissie’s affections and warned Jim to stay away while he’s on duty in Pearl Harbor. Yes — a bombing solves some of Jim’s dilemma but creates new ones. He’s about to turn 18. Will he enter the fray? Over the course of this pivotal year, Jim stumbles and he shines, but through it all, you can’t help but respect his life and this worthy story, expertly told.
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Karen Vanuska is a Half Moon Bay resident and a member of the National Book Critics Circle.
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