When the Stars Begin to Fall

Angry and frustrated that his entire family is considered to be poor trash, fourteen-year-old Harry defies his father and attempts to prove that a factory is polluting their small Adirondack community

Grade 7-10 When Harry White, whose family is considered "trash," finds that the carpet factory is polluting the Timber River, he decides to make public this moral and legal violation to obtain the respect of his fellow townspeople. But as the economy of the town depends upon the factory, he soon discovers that there is a "conspiracy of silence" that includes the police, the editor of the newspaper, town councillors, and even his father. The characters are not well-developed, nor are all the incidents believable. However, this is a fast-paced story filled with action and excitement. Readers will become involved with Harry's attempts to get binoculars and a camera, his spying and picture taking, and his confrontations with authorities. The thought-provoking questions concerning right and wrong, civic and individual responsibility, and good and evil are not given simplistic or comfortable answers. Harry learns that there are things we cannot control but must cope with and accept. Collier's book is stronger in the questions it raises than in their development in the story. Meryl Silverstein, Meyer Levin JHS Library, Brooklyn
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Older boys come to visit Harry's older sister Helen, knowing she'll let them "use" her. It makes Harry angry, but he knows he can't do anything about it. In Timber Falls, people think his father is a thief and the whole White family is "trash." Harry tries to overcome the label by being neat and well-behaved. Nothing works until he discovers that a factory is polluting the river. He's sure that if he exposes it, people will finally show him respect. But even those who know about the factory won't help Harry, and he learns the harshest fact of allthat only if he leaves Timber Falls will he get a chance to succeed. The compassion found in Collier's award-winning historical fiction carries this story through the betrayals and terrible truths of Harry's life. Readers will be angered by Harry's treatment at the hands of others, as well as enlightened by his intelligence, which comes shining through.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.