When Stars Are Scattered

Template:Short description Template:Italic title Template:Infobox book

When Stars Are Scattered is a nonfiction young adult graphic novel written by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and Iman Geddy, and published April 14, 2020, by Dial Books.

Alongside other honors, the book won the Walter Dean Myers Award for Young Readers^[1] and Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Josette Frank Award.^[2]

Plot

When Stars Are Scattered follows co-author Mohamed and his younger brother, Hassan, who was born in Somalia and fled to a refugee camp in Kenya when they were toddlers. Although an older woman adopted the brothers, they never stopped searching for their mother. While at the camp, one day, a man came up to Mohamed, telling him that he should go to school, but Mohamed refused, so that he could take care of his brother, Hassan.

Reception

Reviews

When Stars Are Scattered was generally well-received, including starred reviews from Booklist,^[3] The Horn Book,^[4] Kirkus Reviews,^[5] Publishers Weekly,^[6] and School Library Journal.^[7]

Writing for School Library Journal, Steven Engelfried said, "The writing is intriguing and easy to understand. The graphics are beautiful and really bring the characters to the page. Omar’s story is important, relevant, and relatable."^[8]

Kirkus Reviews wrote, "This engaging, heartwarming story does everything one can ask of a book, and then some."^[5]

The audiobook, which has 12 narrators, received a starred review from Booklist, who said, the audiobook "offers listeners an experience of perfection in its storytelling, format shifting, and performance."^[9]

When Stars Are Scattered was named one of the best books of 2020 by the Chicago Public Library,^[10] Kirkus Reviews,^[5] the New York Public Library,^[11] The New York Times,^[12] NPR,^[13] Publishers Weekly,^[14] and School Library Journal.^[15]

Awards and honors

Both the book and audiobook editions of When Stars Are Scattered are Junior Library Guild selections.^[16]^[17]

Awards and honors for *When Stars Are Scattered*
Year	Award/honor	Result	Ref.
2020	Booklist Editors' Choice: Youth Audio	Selection	^[18]
	Charlotte Huck Award	Honor	^[19]
	Goodreads Choice Award for Graphic Novels & Comics	Nominee	^[20]
	Jane Addams Children's Book Award	Finalist	^[21]
	National Book Award for Young People's Literature	Finalist	^[22]^[5]
2021	ALSC Notable Children's Books for Middle Readers	Selection	^[23]
	ALSC Notable Children's Recordings	Selection	^[24]
	Children's Africana Book Award for Older Readers	Honor	^[25]
	Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens	Nominee	^[26]
	Heavy Medal Award	Finalist	^[8]
	ILA Notable Books for a Global Society	Selection	^[27]
	Josette Frank Award	Winner	^[2]
	Judy Lopez Memorial Award	Honor	^[28]
	Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production	Honor	^[29]
	Schneider Family Book Award	Honor	^[29]^[5]
	Walter Dean Myers Award for Younger Readers	Winner	^[1]
	YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults	Top 10	^[30]
	YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction	Nominee	^[31]
	YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens	Selection	^[32]
	YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers	Selection	^[33]

References

Template:Reflist

Template:American Library Association

[:3-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Template:Cite web

[:4-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Template:Cite web

[3] Template:Cite web

[4] Template:Cite web

[:0-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 ^5.4 Template:Cite web

[6] Template:Cite web

[7] Template:Cite web

[:1-8] 8.0 ^8.1 Template:Cite web

[9] Template:Cite web

[10] Template:Cite web

[11] Template:Cite web

[12] Template:Cite news

[13] Template:Cite web

[14] Template:Cite web

[15] Template:Cite web

[16] Template:Cite web

[17] Template:Cite web

[18] Template:Cite web

[19] Template:Cite web

[20] Template:Cite web

[21] Template:Cite web

[22] Template:Cite web

[23] Template:Cite web

[24] Template:Cite web

[25] Template:Cite web

[26] Template:Cite web

[27] Template:Cite web

[28] Template:Cite web

[:2-29] 29.0 ^29.1 Template:Cite web

[30] Template:Cite web

[31] Template:Cite web

[32] Template:Cite web

[33] Template:Cite web

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]