Death is not an easy subject to deal with in children's books. Attempts to reassure young people too often create saccharine prose; attempts to confront the issue can result in a grim and unappealing tone. Alas, "A Star for the Latecomer"—the story of a young girl trying to come to terms with her mother's approaching death from cancer—tries to find a middle ground but fails. Like Roni Schotter's "A Matter of Time." concerning a similar situation, the story is overwhelmed by its messages. The authors, intent on their topic, have produced prose that is repetitious and tends toward preachiness. And from the opening paragraph, when the narrator says, "I feel somehow you'll understand because you're probably around my age or once upon a time you were my age" (italics mine), they don't really seem to know whom they are speaking to.

Brooke Hillary, 16, has always been...