As I began to write The Star That Always Stays, I knew that I wanted this story to be an homage to classic girls’ literature, and I was thinking about the books that came before me that I wished to emulate.
Maybe I didn’t realize it at the time, but as a kid I was soaking up many family stories. Every Sunday we gathered for dinner at my grandparents’ house, and while we feasted on stuffed grape leaves and squash, pita bread, hummus, shish barak dumpling soup, tabooli, and other homemade dishes, I listened to stories about life back in the old country.