I love reading middle grade, but this one just wasn't for me. It felt like a lot was missing and maybe it was because of the audio. The computer voice threw the whole story off and I lost all interest in the book.

Such a wonderful and imaginative story. I really enjoyed it. The book follows Ivy Mae Bloom, a young girl that travels with her parents because her Mother is a fallen star and she travels around procuring magical wishes. One night, Ivy decides to steal all her Mother's wishes and use them for herself to wish for a forever home because she is tired of traveling around and wants to settle down. Her Mother warned her of using too many wishes and thus bad things start happening in Whistling Ridge, where her Aunt lives and now they must travel there to help. No Spoilers but I definitely recommend it for kids of all ages. Thanks to Netgalley for this review copy.

*Disclaimer: The synthetic narrator just was not doing it for me. It was SO hard sometimes to get through, which I think in turn made me question the story. I would have to remind myself it's a computer voice and to focus on what Cindy was writing rather than how it was being read. With that being said..

I really did enjoy this magical realism story. I felt that Ivy feels a lot like our kids do sometimes; unseen and in desperate need to know their purpose and where they fit. Because of how Cindy took the storyline and wove in Ivy's desperate need for stability (a need so many students are experiencing these days) - I found myself rooting for Ivy. You will feel good after reading this, and I think that alone is enough for me to recommend to students and even read aloud to my classes.

Ivy has grown up knowing all about wishes and how they do not always work out as expected. After all, her mother is a fallen star and grants wishes for a living. Still, Ivy steals her mother's store of wishes for herself, desperate for a place to call a forever home. Although Ivy's desires are reasonable, she is often unable to see anyone else's perspectives, making her a compelling protagonist.

This book is about more than just magic or wishes. It's about dealing with the heavy emotions that make humans real.

I loved this book. It was engaging from the beginning to the sweet ending. The children and other characters were relatable and the messages were lovely and enjoyable. I can’t wait to share this book with my child. Thank you for giving me an opportunity read it.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Harper Audio for the Audio ARC of The Stars of Whistling Ridge in exchange for an honest review.

Cindy Baldwin's The Stars of Whistling Ridge is a middle grade novel that uses magical realism to drive the story of Ivy Mae Bloom's search for a forever home. Ivy Mae's family is generally transient all year long. They move from town to town to ensure her father the travel journalist has something to write about while her mother sells fireflies as wishes. It is a cautionary tale of be careful of what you wish for as it may not be what you really need. In addition it is a story about the family, concept of home, magic and sacrifice. I really enjoyed this novel and it journey to the end.

This was such a fun, wholesome, and easy read. A story of be careful what you wish for and also the grass isn't always greener. A lovely read!

The Stars of Whistling Ridge (audio book)
by Cindy Baldwin
I hope that the publisher gets great reader for the book, someone with a young voice, which would make it better.
The Idea is great, stars come to earth to help people. Granting wishes, balancing the magic, and finding connections between the two. The plot point of a young girl finding a forever home instead of being on the road with her parents all the time. Stealing her mothers wishes to find this forever home just starts an avalanche of problems. When her aunt is dying because of the magic sucking in the Whistling Ridge. Was it her use of wishes? or something more dark?
Great kids book for Young readers. I will suggest it to my school libraries.

Alright Cindy, I'm like a 3.87 out of 5 birds for The Stars of Whistling Ridge, rounded up. I was very excited to get my hands on this ARC audio copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Last year I read Where the Watermelons Grow by Cindy and LOVE every second of it. The Stars of Whistling Ridge first caught my attention with the cover, it's beautiful artwork. The book started out strong for me and I was very intrigued, then I started to get to know Ivy more and more and she was a very unlikable main character to me. So whiny and obnoxious- so maybe similar to a hormonal tween.... So I mean you nailed the character- maybe too well. I did really enjoy the mixing of magic realism and contemporary. I thought the plot was unique and the save the earth undertones were awesome. I think a middle grader would enjoy it and perhaps not so much the adults. I will also point out that I loved the juxtaposition of the sisterhoods. The older set and the younger. I too have two sisters and am the obnoxious youngest of the three, so I could relate on some level. Overall, worth the read. I would maybe encourage you to READ this one rather than listen- perhaps it will allow you to create your own voice for Ivy.

Thanks for the advanced copy and also a shout out to Cindy. I've been following her on social media and she is awesome with her fans. I will definitely read more of hers. I admire her and all the hard work she puts into her writing. I also loved the shout out to her daughter through zoom first grade. I can relate on so many levels because I have a zoom kindergartner.

#YAfiction #mrsbirdswords #goodreads
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This is a story about a girl wanting more than anything to just have a place to call home, to settle and have regular friends. Life isn’t always what you want or wish of it and for her, she wanted to take destiny into her own hands. So without her parents knowledge she snuck out with 9 jars and made her wishes. What she thought was her wishes coming true was a set of events leading up to the destiny she was meant to lead. Along the way she was able to check off a few of her wishes, but some she never wanted to happen and some that made her realize that there are consequences for the choices we make and things don’t always seem as they are.

This is a wonderful transitional read for middle school kids ready for a reading challenge without striving to far from the fantasy filled world of youth. It may not be a long read but it is chalk full of family, struggles, friends, emotions, and just a bit of magic.

Ivy, the young heroine, is well write and relatable. Her thoughts and dreams give life to her perspective drawing readers deeper into Ivy’s reality. Baldwins descriptive writing gave me goosebumps in the darkness and had me practically tasting pumpkin spice on those fall afternoons.

I would recommend this to all young readers who love adventure and can relate to the struggles of an imperfect family and living situation.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars for a great transitional read geared at middle school students who still love a little whimsy. G rating

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the voice galley of The Stars of Whistling Ridge.

Although some people might dream of traveling across the country in a camper catching fireflies and granting wishes, twelve-year-old Ivy has had about enough of it. It gets worse when her youngest sister won't stop annoying her and her best friend won't respond to emails. Ivy decides it's time to do something about it and finds a way to get her family stuck at their aunt's house in Whistling Ridge. Finally Ivy can have some privacy, make some friends, get a library card, cuddle with a pet and do the sorts of things that normal kids do. But something's not right in Whistling Ridge, and Ivy discovers that it's up to her to help her mother and aunts get to the bottom of a strange sucking darkness that threatens to unravel the town and perhaps the whole world.
Oof, there's a lot written into this little book. Themes include family, forgiveness, growing up, and dealing with loss, among other things. I loved how easy it was to see things from Ivy's perspective, even though she's not very like me in reality. Her thoughts and dreams are a little repetitive at times (three is an important number, by the way. If you forget this, don't worry, the book will remind you six times), but you've got to hand it to Ivy: she knows what she wants. The descriptions and thoughtful considerations really brought the story to life and made it easy to feel both the bright autumn afternoons as well as the dangerous darkness. The characters were believable and creative and the plot was full of little quirks and twists that made this a captivating read all the way to the end. Also, bravo to the cover artist. I mean, just look at it! I couldn't think of a better cover to capture the magic, mystery, hope and fear that dance along each page. I feel warm and hopeful after reading this book, and I hope it will do the same for you.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio copy of The Stars of Whistling Ridge. This book was just not for me. I thought the storyline was weak. Maybe it's that this is a middle grade book, but I've read them before and liked them.

There are so many layers to this story that dance within the pages, layering on top of each other as it moves along. All the stories have one central theme, the very real emotions that come when a dream seems just out of reach.

A story of magic, sisters, and sacrifice.

I loved this story! It isn't often that I hear asthma described so well or for it to last as long in literature as it does in real life. Also, being an RV girl myself, I like seeing my life on the pages of a book.

CAWPILE Rating: 9.29

This was a magical read! The novel follows a young girl wanting to settle down in one place for once in her life. For most of her life, she has lived on the road, travelling. Her mother is literally a fallen star and makes her living trading wishes. In a desperate move, Ivey steal a wish in an attempt to find a permanent home.
This novel was beautifully written with key themes of family in a fantasy genre. I'll definitely be reading more books from the author.

When I saw this was available on Netgalley, I thought "why not". I've been meaning to try more Middle Grade stories as I almost never read in that genre and I'm still searching for one that will make me feel like this genre could also be enjoyable for me. Unfortunately, The Stars of Whistling Ridge wasn't that book but it's probably a Me problem instead of a book problem.

In it, you'll meet Ivy as she is tired to follow her family who moves from one town to the next. To stop that and to have a "forever home" she ends up stealing the wishes that her mother was meant to use for other people and use them for herself. I was curious about the plot about the town but I feel like I didn't end up getting what I wanted/expected.

If you love Middle Grade books, you'll probably enjoy this one more than me :)

<i>(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy Mae Bloom has never known a true home with a backyard, a pet, a treehouse, or even stable friends. But that's exactly what she wishes for when she steals her mother's jar of wishes. Her mom, a shooting star personified, has the ability to grant wishes to those who seek them, but Ivy Mae is taking destiny into her own hands. But as her mother always warns Ivy Mae and her sisters, wishes that come true never get realized the way we expect them.

I can admit never having to move around as a kid, but I understood where Ivy Mae was coming from. Cindy Baldwin wrote a well-rounded character that resonated with me both in her highs and lows. Even when Ivy Mae made a choice I probably would not approve of if I were a parent, I never felt like her decisions came out of nowhere. I enjoyed watching Ivy Mae grow and realize what family and home really mean.

I do wish we got to see more of the shooting star history, especially more into the powers of shooting stars. There was a little bit lacking there, especially towards the end.

I think this book is a good transition for children who are just growing out of children books and starting to enter into middle grade fiction. If I bought younger children this would be a good story to recommend to children in my local area that has a lot of army families. I think it would be a good book to bring up discussions about family relationships and how we define home.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and here is my review! This book is realistic fiction mixed with magical realism. It is about Ivy and her family who travel around so that her mom, who is a fallen star, can grant wishes and fix the magic in the world. Ivy just wants a stable place to call home so that she can live a “normal” life. Ivy proceeds to steal her moms wishes and wishes for a home. This ends up bringing them to Whistling Ridge, where Ivys moms sister lives (also a fallen star). But things are not quite right in Whistling Ridge and it’s up to Ivy and her family to figure out why. I really enjoyed this book but was hoping for a little more magic/fantasy. The beginning and ending were solid- it did slow down a little in the middle for me. But definitely worth the read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the voice galley of The Stars of Whistling Ridge.

It's hard to read a middle-grade book as an adult and mother because I ended up feeling defensive at some points for the parents and my thoughts would say "I'm sure they are doing the best they can" and "They are just trying to provide for you" Things like that would run through my head.

With that being said, I did relate to the MC Ivy and felt for her in her moments of sadness, anger, and frustration. This would be a good book for a young teenage girl or pre-teen to read I think just on the descriptions of feelings and moments when her feelings are talked about. It would open up a good discussion I'm sure if you read it with your middle-grade child. I liked the magic elements and would have liked even more magic moments or explanations or background info. Part of the ending made sense and part of it didn't. I had an idea for the ending but what I thought would happen didn't so I am a bit disappointed. But, overall it was a cute read!

Thank for the opportunity of listening to this audiobook.. The story was good, but somehow I don’t know if it’s the narration but I drifted often and lost interest in the audiobook. I don’t know but I listened to a lot of books similar and it’s missing something ,I know this isn’t the final
Product but it miss a spark. Nice voice but always on the same intonation and well like I said I lost interest often and almost drift to snooze land a few times. it’s a good book, story is great and cover wow! I think I will read the actual book next :)
It’s an honest review and hope it will help.