35 pages • 1 hour read
Jen WangStargazing
Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Challenge of Forming an Identity
The novel shows how forming an identity is especially challenging for children caught between tradition and modernity. Born to immigrant parents with high expectations, Christine often feels like she has to meet their standards and does not have room to find out who she is. When Moon comes into the picture, this all begins to change. Moon and her mother are so different from the type of people that Christine is used to. Christine marvels at the way that Moon seems so confident and self-assured, and spends as much time with her as possible.
Wang suggests that exposing oneself to someone different can be inspiring. By interacting with Moon, Christine learns a great deal about herself. She finds out that she can dance, that she enjoys painting her toenails, and that she has the confidence and strength to perform in front of her school.
When Moon’s actions reveal her tendency toward violence, Christine is challenged to see past them to the person beneath, propelling her growth as a person. She also grows by facing Moon’s illness. Christine acts out of fear when Moon is diagnosed with a brain tumor, avoiding her and the hospital. After a supportive talk with her father, Christine finds that she feels brave enough to admit her guilt, apologize, and confront the reality of Moon’s tumor. She learns to put her own fears aside for the sake of someone who needs her. Christine’s father seems to sense that Christine is maturing; he allows her to sit in the front seat and even makes a joke about nail polish. He also grows as a person. After resisting the fact that Christine was starting to mature, her father begins to come to terms with it, which gives Christine more room to be herself.
When Moon meets Christine, she is unaware that she has a brain tumor causing hallucinations. Moon instead interprets her hallucinations as cosmic visions of warm and comforting beings in space. For a time, she believes that she is from space and meant to go back there some day. She literally feels like an alien, someone not bound to the mundanities and ordinary life of Earth. After her surgery, Moon has to deal with the loss of her identity and sense of being different, someone special. She is not sure who she is without her visions and the possibility of a home somewhere else: “All along I’ve just been a weirdo. And I’ll have to live on this earth for the rest of my life” (196). It is Christine who helps Moon see that she is great just as she is.
The Transformative Power of Friendship
The novel shows how friendship has an immense impact on children’s growth and development. Wang suggests that a good friend who challenges perceptions can be the spark that changes an entire life. Christine and Moon come from different backgrounds and value systems, but are drawn to one another for this reason. They are curious and excited by the idea of trying something new, and getting to know a different side of the world. Christine experiences a transformation during the first few short months that she and Moon are friends. Moon, at the same time, finds in Christine someone she can trust to tell her deepest secrets without judgment, and makes a friend where once she was isolated and lonely.
Being around Moon helps Christine transform from a more reserved, hesitant person to someone who is confident, vivacious, and fun-loving. While Christine remains a hard-working student and loyal sister, she opens up and discovers a hidden side to her personality, one which was held back by her family’s traditional lifestyle. Christine learns to amalgamate her new experiences with Moon with the traditions of her family. She paints her toenails in secret and learns dance steps from Moon, illustrating her willingness to try new things, branch out, and challenge herself. Initially, Christine judged Moon and was afraid of her. Getting to know Moon made Christine into a listener—someone who hears but does not advise. She is exactly what Moon needs.
Wang emphasizes the importance of being open. Christine and Moon welcome the opportunity to test out their boundaries and different sides of themselves. Christine’s openness leads Moon to trust her. It is through this trust that Moon is able to confide about her visions and find comfort after making mistakes.
Christine and Moon help one another grow. In navigating her feelings about Moon’s surgery, Christine matures and owns up to her guilt and poor decisions. Christine’s platonic love for her friend gives her the confidence to perform the Chara song in front of the school, even without Moon beside her. Instead, Moon sits in the audience, feeling supported and seen by her peers.
Bridging the Cultural Divide
Christine and Moon are two very different girls from very different worlds, despite living in the same Asian American suburb. Each comes from a different Asian background with unique values and ways of looking at life. Additionally, each seeks to find their place within the larger world as an Asian American and child of immigrant parents. Wang shows how this balancing act can be a source of conflict and confusion for Asian American children expected to uphold their family’s traditions while also fitting into American culture. Through their friendship and mutual understanding, Christine and Moon help one another. They see past their differences and become best friends.
The gap between the girls’ lives and cultures is clear from the moment that Moon is introduced. Christine and all her friends attend church and play in the church orchestra, but Moon and her mother, who are Buddhist and vegetarian, do not. Christine’s family is financially comfortable. In contrast, Moon is invited into the church to get some food from the buffet when people learn that her mother is struggling financially. She appears disheveled and slightly angry, but in truth is just nervous about being in different surroundings. Moon’s body frame contrasts with those of the other kids. While Moon is stocky, the others are petite and thin.
Moon’s family difficulties separate her from others, as most of the people in the community are doing relatively well. Christine’s family is even able to offer Moon and Mrs. Lin free accommodations. Christine comes from a stricter and more traditional background. When hearing that Moon is rough and potentially violent, Christine judges Moon without knowing her.
Christine’s curiosity allows her to bridge the divide between them and open up to Moon’s way of life. Christine enjoys Mrs. Lin’s vegetarian cooking. When Moon introduces Christine to the power and pizzaz of Chara, Christine is hooked and wants to see Moon every day. Moon’s free-spirited, fun-loving nature starts to rub off on Christine, who begins hip-hop dancing. Although Moon and Christine have their issues along the way, their friendship is an example of understanding and acceptance. Even when Moon acts out physically, Christine is still there to listen. And when Christine fails to confront her guilt and visit Moon before her surgery, Moon instantly forgives her. In this way, the novel suggests that individuals from different economic and cultural backgrounds can learn from one another; they should be attracted by their differences, rather than seeing them as barriers.
