About the Author
Meg McKinlay is the author of eighteen books ranging from
picture books and young adult fiction through to poetry for adults.
Her work includes the much-loved No Bears, Once Upon A
Small Rhinoceros and the critically acclaimed A Single
Stone, which won the 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Award,
among other prizes. Raised in central Victoria, in a TV- and
car-free household, Meg was a bookish kid, in love with words and
excited by dictionaries. A former academic at the University of
Western Australia, where she taught Japanese, Literature, and
Creative Writing, Meg is now a full-time writer and lives near the
ocean in Fremantle, where she is always busy cooking up more books.
Reviews
A finely crafted novel that will catch the attention of teachers as
well as readers aged nine and up. Highly recommended. * Books and
Publishing *
Catch a Falling Star is a winner. It captures the fragments of
warmth and tenderness that flutter and fall through mortality's
sieve of pain. Highly recommended. * Striking Keys *
Catch a Falling Star is middle grade writing at it's very finest.
McKinlay takes the reader to the highest level of emotion, but then
reigns it back in, right at the point that it might venture into
content too mature * Childrens Books Daily *
This is a beautiful, sometimes humorous and often poignant tale
about grief and loss, love and family, bravery and self-belief.
I would highly recommend it for readers from around ten years
upwards.
* Just So Stories *
McKinlay, as always, brings an enormous amount of insight to a
story without weighing it down and the result is a book that is
tender, hopeful, and slightly surreal. * Readings *
This is a moving, frequently funny, story of death and grief and
joy and love set against the background of the growing panic
engendered by the return of Skylab when Australians learn that
Western Australia is its target. Highly recommended. * Magpies
Magazine *
This is an intriguing, tender, often funny and absorbing story that
deals with issues that are important to us all: family, learning to
deal with the hardships that life can deal us, and the value of
friendship * Good Reading *
There is a touch of the surreal about this novel, a mingling of
magic and science that distills into hope. McKinlay's portrayal of
this life essence is unflinching and spot on...And yes, it's about
Storm Boy and the messy bits in life and unhappy endings, which
might sound cheesy and maudlin but are two things this superbly
crafted novel is not.
More brilliant than the Milky Way. A must read.
* Dims Write Stuff *
Meg McKinlay has written this book perfectly for younger readers,
as she explores the importance of having something to hope for
while negotiating the isolation that grief brings to individual
members of a family. * ReadPlus *
Catch a Falling Star is a magnificent novel that pre-teens
and teenagers can enjoy. * Alphabet Soup *
This coming of age story is beautifully written. It captures magic
and hope as well as grief and loss in equal balance, and while
based on an international event, it speaks to the heart of the
reader... This title will be an important part of every upper
primary and early secondary school library collection and provides
plenty of scope for bookclub discussions. * CBCA: Reading Time
*
'Catch a Falling Star' is middle grade writing at it's very finest.
McKinlay takes the reader to the highest level of emotion, but then
reigns it back in, right at the point that it might venture into
content too mature. * Teach Starter *
Sometimes you read a book and are so deeply moved by the content
that you must sit in silence for a while and ponder. Catch a
Falling Star is one of these books... Classrooms will love this
book for its varied discussion starters, and kids will love it for
its honesty and insight into life. It's a story you won't soon
forget. * Kids' Book Review *
Meg McKinlay has created a wonderfully gentle narrative,
beautifully tender and an exploration of the many facets of grief
and how is reshapes families. Absolutely loved it to the moon and
back. * DivaBookNerd *
