56 pages • 1 hour read
Wendy MassEvery Soul a Star
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
PAGES 1-115
Reading Check
1. What does Ally call the six recreational sites of Moon Shadow Campgrounds?
2. Where does Bree hope to work over the summer?
3. What is Jack hoping to avoid by spending two weeks at Moon Shadow?
4. What does Ally tell Ryan she is hoping to discover?
5. Where does Jack like to go to spend his time and feel safe?
6. What event brings many tourists to the Moon Shadow Campgrounds?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Bree describe herself, and what are her major interests?
2. Why doesn’t Jack know what his father looks like?
3. Who are the friends Ally speaks with each night?
4. What did Ally’s grandfather wear around his neck, and where did it come from?
5. Who are the Holdens, and how does their arrival shatter Ally’s dreams?
Paired Resource
- This interactive timeline of the history of astronomy shows its milestones and the great thinkers who helped humankind develop its understanding of space.
- This connects to the theme The Positive Impact of Education.
- Using the timeline, find out what skill the Phoenician sailors were using in 1100 B.C. that plays a role in this book. What other scientific advancements do you find notable?
“‘Who Am I?’ – Identity Formation in Adolescence”
- This pdf by a professor at Cornell University presents a great deal of information about the development of identity in adolescence in a clear, student-friendly way.
- Connects to the theme The Need to Celebrate Identity.
- Look at the pitfalls listed on the second page of the sheet. How do these pitfalls correspond to the conflicts that arise in the novel?
PAGES 116-208
Reading Check
1. What movie do Ally and Bree look to for inspiration on how to trick their parents?
2. What is Pete allergic to?
3. Who is Jack surprised to learn will be joining him on the data-gathering expedition?
4. Which character says “No way! No way am I living out here. This is crazy!” (Page 134)
5. What does Ally help Jack locate with the help of a laser pointer?
6. What name does the group of youngsters give themselves once they are left without adult supervision?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why are different teams monitoring the magnitudes of certain stars, and what do they hope to detect?
2. How does Ally help Bree change her wardrobe, and how does Bree feel about it?
3. How does Jack save Pete, and what effect does it have on Jack?
4. What is Jack’s opinion of Ally after attending her lecture?
5. What thought does Jack sometimes have when he meets a middle-aged man?
6. What does the letter from California’s SETI Institute inform Ally?
Paired Resource
“Neil deGrasse Tyson: Urgent Need for Science Literacy”
- In this interview with The Harlem Times, Neil deGrasse Tyson explains how certain types of learning are undervalued in traditional school environments.
- Tyson’s message of The Positive Impact of Education is especially relevant to Ally’s experience.
- Would the characters in the novel agree with Tyson’s thoughts about teachers and the educational system? If so, which ones?
PAGES 209-308
Reading Check
1. Where do the children wait out the storm?
2. Who arrives in the middle of a ghost story?
3. What change in life are Ryan’s grandparents experiencing?
4. What type of product did Jack once appear in an advertisement for?
5. What does Team Exo observe in the star’s light curve?
6. Who joins the kids during the eclipse?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is the weather like as the day of the eclipse arrives, and how does this affect Ally?
2. What is Bree’s response to viewing the night sky through the telescope?
3. What artistic contribution does Jack leave to the Art House?
4. Why do some viewers prefer to stay away from the “flash friendly” zone?
5. How does Jack respond when he sees the shadow of the moon, and how does his response make him feel?
Paired Resource
“Five Ways Positive Friendships Can Help Your Child at School and in Life”
- This informative guide from the Queensland government explains healthy habits for young people to cooperate and learn from their friends.
- The advice in this article addresses both The Need to Celebrate Identity and The Positive Impact of Education.
- Does Every Soul a Star reflect any of the information presented in the article? For example, do any of the friendships in the story help the characters develop life skills? Do they perform better when they are in a group?
EPILOGUE
Reading Check
1. According to the letter Bree writes to her friend, what part of the Moon Shadow camp did she finally visit?
2. What does Bree give out as souvenirs to the other members of Team Exo?
3. What personal item does Jack show Ally while they are saying goodbye on the bus?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How do most of the eclipse chasers spend the final moments of the eclipse, and what does Ally’s family do instead?
2. What does Jack give Ally before he leaves, and what does she feel about the gift?
3. Who visits Jack at his cabin before he leaves, and what is the tone of their meeting?=
Recommended Next Reads
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
- This story concerns Caden, a 15-year-old who experiences hallucinations and anxiety that cause him to create a second reality in which he is a sailor on a ship.
- Shared themes include The Need to Celebrate Identity.
- Shared topics include adolescents with anxiety and personal growth.
- Challenger Deep on SuperSummary
Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
- Maya is a teenage Indian American girl living in Illinois who must contend with anti-Muslim discrimination while trying to pursue her education.
- Shared themes include The Positive Impact of Education and The Need to Celebrate Identity.
- Shared topics include coming-of-age and fitting in.
- Love, Hate, and Other Filters on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
PAGES 1-115
Reading Check
1. The Unusuals
2. The mall
3. Summer school
4. A comet
5. His treehouse
6. An eclipse
Short Answer
1. Bree describes herself as “tall,” “attractive,” and “beautiful”; her interests include modeling and shopping.
2. His mother has cut out his father’s face from every family photograph they have, and Jack has never met him.
3. Ally speaks with three imaginary friends she pretends she has on distant planets.
4. Ally’s grandfather wore a fragment of a meteorite in a pouch around his neck. The fragment flew out of the sky and struck him while he was asleep.
5. The Holdens are the family that is coming to take over the camp. Their arrival means that Ally is moving to the city, which devastates her.
PAGES 116-208
Reading Check
1. The Parent Trap
2. Peanuts
3. Ally
4. Bree
5. The North Pole / The Big Dipper
6. Team Exo
Short Answer
1. The teams are monitoring the stars’ magnitude, hoping to notice a momentary dimming, which would indicate the existence of an exoplanet.
2. Ally gives Bree practical clothing like a jacket to keep off bugs, socks, and appropriate footwear. Bree feels as though she is “wearing a costume.” (Page 124)
3. Jack saves Pete by getting him his Epi-Pen when he is having an allergic reaction to peanuts; the positive attention unnerves Jack and he retreats to the privacy of the Sun Garden.
4. Jack is mesmerized by her presentation on astronomy and finds her charming.
5. Jack wonders if that man is his biological father.
6. The letter tells her that the anomaly she reported has been noted by other astronomers.
PAGES 209-308
Reading Check
1. A shed
2. Bree
3. Divorce
4. Diapers
5. A dimming
6. Jack
Short Answer
1. The weather is stormy and unpredictable, and Ally worries that a cloud cover will ruin the experience of the eclipse. A cloudy or rainy day would ruin the observer’s chance to see the eclipse.
2. Bree is overwhelmed by seeing the sky through the telescope, saying, “It’s so beautiful and mysterious and powerful.” (Page 234)
3. Jack paints his masterpiece on the Art House walls—a mural that includes each member of his team.
4. The “flash friendly” zone allows bright light like flashes or video lights, which can ruin a person’s night vision.
5. Jack reacts as though the shadow were an object hurtling at him, which embarrasses him.
EPILOGUE
Reading Check
1. The labyrinth
2. Photographs
3. His stuffed bear
Short Answer
1. Most of the eclipse chasers begin packing up and leaving before the eclipse is even over, but the family lies back on the ground and watches until the very end.
2. Jack gives Ally a drawing of her as a superhero named Comet Girl, riding a comet, which she loves.
3. Team Exo visits Jack’s cabin for a heartfelt sendoff before he leaves.
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