Stargazing Tells a Tale of an Unlikely Friendship

First Second

In Stargazing, Christine Hong is a girl under pressure. Her parents want her to excel and conform to the point that an unbuttoned collar is a disappointment. When Moon Lin and her mother rent living space from Christine’s parents, she becomes the friend that Christine wants and needs.

Moon is different from most of the other kids in Christine’s primarily Chinese American community. She and her mother are Buddhists (and consequently, vegetarian), and she introduces Christine to K-pop. Moon is also fiercely reactive to threats, sticking up for Christine’s younger sister at school. She convinces Christine to try fingernail polish, something frowned upon as frivolous by Christine’s parents, and has a vivid fantasy life, seeing visions of celestial beings. When Moon tells Christine that she’s really from among the stars, it almost seems plausible in a David Bowie–esque way. She’s just too cool and confident to have come from Earth.

As Moon gets better acquainted with her new classmates, Christine starts to worry about their relationship. Will Moon still need her friendship now that she’s making more friends? Ultimately, Christine makes a choice she comes to regret and learns a bit more about what it means to truly be there for another person.

Christine gets her first view of Moon. First Second

Jen Wang, the author and artist of Stargazing (who won multiple awards for her previous book, The Prince and the Dressmaker), drew on her own childhood memories in the creation of this book—both in her experiences trying to figure out how personal differences informed her identity within the Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant Asian American community where she grew up and in the events that inspired the ending of Stargazing.

Her art and character designs are charming and instantly draw you in. Even in the first few pages, which feature a number of students all dressed in very similar outfits for an orchestra concert, it is easy to see each person as an individual, with different ways of standing, different hairstyles, and small nuances within their clothing, just as in real life. Moon and Christine are, true to their personalities, a study in visual contrasts. Christine nearly always looks neat, with nicely brushed hair and clothes that look as if they’ve been ironed. Moon tends to be wild, with unruly hair and clothes that look a little more lived-in.

Stargazing is very much on the visual side of graphic novels, which makes it a quick read, though be sure to take time to appreciate how much nuance the artist conveys with a panel showing a single facial expression. As an adult, it made me remember trying to navigate that tricky point of growing up that comes somewhere between fourth and sixth grade—when your friend criteria becomes less about proximity and more about multiple shared interests, and when your parents start treating you a little bit less like a small child. This is a book that I am definitely passing on to my daughter to read, since, as much as I hate to admit it, she’s getting closer to that point herself. Plus, I think she’ll really enjoy the book.

Stargazing is out September 10, 2019, from First Second.