A Hand Full of Stars

A great introduction to a foreign culture (and I don't mean the tourist sites), I enjoyed this "journal" as it slowly and surely revealed its "author" as a growing teenager who, no doubt, will become a journalist/writer as he gets older. Full of wisdom, humor and realism, I recommend this book for high school students; I believe that many middle school students will feel that in the first half of the book "nothing happens" and the references to a romantic relationship may make some parents nervous. Nevertheless, to see a writer grow subtly over time is a pleasure. A HAND FULL OF STARS is relevant to students of literature in any country.

This is extremely well-written, and does not seem to suffer for being a translated work. The characters are fully-formed, interesting people, and the story is very compelling. I also enjoyed the journal format, as it keeps the story moving well. This book paints a very vivid picture of life in modern-day Damascus.

Written in the form of a boy's diary, this book lets you live with it's characters for a while. It describes life in the ancient Arab city of Damascus in a very beautiful and emotional way. The main message of this book is a call for Freedom of Speech, but it is not political. I read the book for the first time in German in the late 1980's and now during the war on Iraq (2003) I came back to it and it helped me a lot to make up my own mind about the conflict. This book is not only suited for teenagers, it is also quite exciting to read for adults!

A wonderfully complex world of characters & cultures! The exotic setting feels familiar as we explore modern Damascus with a spirited teenage boy. Political chaos & poverty push him into adult responsibilities, as we see him becoming a fine, brave young man.