A Glasshouse of Stars
Publisher: Puffin (Penguin Random House Australia)
Published: May 2021
Genre: Children's
Meixing Lim arrives in the New Land at the New House (which she dubs ‘Big Scary’) following the death of her uncle who has died unexpectedly while picking oranges in his back garden. MaMa and Baba are trying to adapt and Meixing is doing the best she can at school, but things just aren’t fitting together; in fact, they’re falling apart. When tragedy strikes the family, Meixing’s only comfort is in the magical glasshouse filled with her Uncle’s old orange trees, but she can’t stay there forever. A Glasshouse of Stars is a bittersweet but hopeful insight into the life of a young girl immigrating to Australia. Perfect for both younger and older readers, it’s written in a second-person point of view, placing the reader directly in Meixing’s shoes for a heart-wrenching but tender read.