THE BLUE STAR-- Tony Early

Jim Glass is a high school senior, ready to experience life, just as WWII is ready to begin. The book ends with his enlistment,after Pearl Harbor, so we don't know what happens after this. Interestingly, it opens with a letter from Jim's girlfriends' Mom to his Uncle Zeno, explaining why she won't marry him because he refuses to enlist in WWI, and thus embarrasses her with his lack of patriotism. Jim lives with his widow mother, his three uncles, who seem to be the wealthy farmers in the town of Aliceville. Jim has been going with Norma, the smartest and best looking girl in town, but he cannot seem to get anywhere with her, as she always draws the line. He ends up falling madly in love with Chrissie Steppe, a new girl in town, from the wrong side of the mountain, whose Mom was engaged to Uncle Zeno, thus the parallels between the generations. Chrissie, of course, won't give Jim the time of day, mostly because she's embarrassed by the fact that she's supposed to be Bucky Buckhorn's girlfriend, and the fact her family is beholden to Bucky's father for a shack to live in. Chrissie's father, an Native American, is despised by Jim's uncles, for his thriftless ways, his confidence, and his arrogance. Clearly, racism enters into this, always covert, though we feel it when Jim is confronted with the fact that Chrissie is half native American. The novel moves toward the conclusion, to Jim's decision to enlist, unlike his Uncle Zeno, and the major event is the death of Bucky, in an accident, and all the emotions it elicits from Chrissie(relief but also guilt), and Jim (some happiness and guilt for feeling it), and the terrible rage of the father, who seems to be the most arrogant in the story. We also learn that Chrissie's father has been killed during a robbery, thus she is faced with all these deaths at once. It brings Jim and her together, however, and though she never en tiredly commits herself to Jim, it's clear she will wait for him to return from the war. The novel depicts the angst of growing up, of young love, of violence, mostly emotional, by both Bucky and his father towards the poor, especially a women. Jim, the hero, comes across as a grown up Opie, making mistakes but he has the right instincts. The most touching scene is when Jim's Uncle Zeno takes him off and tells him about his love for Chrissie's mom, the reasons why he didn't enlist, and how she then turned to the more rebellious and dangerous native American, called Indian Joe. The novel is written brilliantly, plumbing the depths of Jim's feelings and love for his family, the mountains of North Carolina, and Chrissie. Norma, Jim's former girl friend, though initially seen as a 'goody goody' ends up being the most mature person in the story, caring for Jim despite his love for Chrissie and ends up being a good friend, something he would have found impossible early in the text.