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Star Darlings #12
Gemma and the Ultimate Standoff
Gemma talks too much and has no follow-through. She must learn how to listen to others and finish what she starts, while remaining curious and clever.
Gemma leaves for the final mission in the dead of night not realizing that her Wisher made a bad wish, which, if granted, could tip the balance of power forever. The other Star Darlings realize that Gemma is about to grant a bad wish, but without a shooting star in sight, they have no way of getting down to Wishworld. Luckily, a meteor shower begins, which serves to get the others to Wishworld to turn the wish around and collect the positive wish energy.
Gemma, meanwhile, is following up on her Wisher's bad wish, which is to be popular. The other Star Darlings arrive to help turn a negative wish into a positive one.
Gemma leaves for the final mission in the dead of night not realizing that her Wisher made a bad wish, which, if granted, could tip the balance of power forever. The other Star Darlings realize that Gemma is about to grant a bad wish, but without a shooting star in sight, they have no way of getting down to Wishworld. Luckily, a meteor shower begins, which serves to get the others to Wishworld to turn the wish around and collect the positive wish energy.
Gemma, meanwhile, is following up on her Wisher's bad wish, which is to be popular. The other Star Darlings arrive to help turn a negative wish into a positive one.
176 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2016
21 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 24, 2019
Gemma may be the final Star Darling to travel to Wishworld, but she knows her mission is key to saving Starland from the negative energy - but a shocking twist in her wish granting may every well lead to the destruction of everything she and her friends hold dear! Zappa concludes this amazing series with plenty of magical twists, humour, and friends worth cheering for with the whole family. What is it about Gemma's mission that holds the fate of her home in the balance?
April 23, 2018
Zappa, Shana and Zappa, Ahmet Gemma and the Ultimate Standoff (Star Darlings #12), 137 pages. Disney, 2016. $7. Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.
Things still aren’t going well in Wishworld. Their wish energy is low, which is what powers everything. Gemma hasn’t been down to wish world –if she can go and be successful can she cure the energy crisis? The Star Darlings have been frantically trying to reach Lady Stella but she won’t respond. Then Gemma finds out that there are good wishes and bad wishes. Things come to a head on Starshine Day and the Star Darlings must stand together.
Again, Book 12 in a series wouldn’t see the light of day at my school, usually students only read one or two before finding another interest, so I probably wouldn’t add it to my library for just that reason. Obviously fans will want this book –so if you have some, add this to your collection, it’s a fun addition. Best ages would be 3-4th grade, but I only have 2nd graders ever interested and it’s a bit too challenging for them and they won’t read them in order –which is necessary to understand the continuing plotlines.
EL– OPTIONAL. Stephanie, Elementary School Librarian & Author
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
Things still aren’t going well in Wishworld. Their wish energy is low, which is what powers everything. Gemma hasn’t been down to wish world –if she can go and be successful can she cure the energy crisis? The Star Darlings have been frantically trying to reach Lady Stella but she won’t respond. Then Gemma finds out that there are good wishes and bad wishes. Things come to a head on Starshine Day and the Star Darlings must stand together.
Again, Book 12 in a series wouldn’t see the light of day at my school, usually students only read one or two before finding another interest, so I probably wouldn’t add it to my library for just that reason. Obviously fans will want this book –so if you have some, add this to your collection, it’s a fun addition. Best ages would be 3-4th grade, but I only have 2nd graders ever interested and it’s a bit too challenging for them and they won’t read them in order –which is necessary to understand the continuing plotlines.
EL– OPTIONAL. Stephanie, Elementary School Librarian & Author
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
September 8, 2019
I was really curious to find about more about this SD because I felt so unlike her. While the authors give her a page or two to discuss how her constant chatter is a gift and how she feels it helps those around her, I didn’t feel that I learned much about her. Maybe it was because they needed to rush her story and get to the final showdown, but I felt there was not much in the way of character development.
March 7, 2022
I really liked this final Star Darlings mission! I knew who the villainess was through half of the series, and this reinforced that. I'm looking forward to the book that explains Lady Stella and Rancora's relationship before it all went wrong.
May 18, 2020
The ending is predictable and I'm quite annoyed by Gemma who didn't really "grow up".
January 28, 2022
To be honest by the end of this series I realized I read it too fast. Was it worth my time give it a few years and I will have reached my conclusion.
September 23, 2016
It’s hard to judge this book on it’s own since it’s also the final book in the first series of Star Darlings books.
By this point, the Star Darlings have figured out they were wrong about who they thought was responsible for all their problems, but still haven’t figured out who is.
(As a reader, it’s pretty obvious who they *should* be suspecting, but considering the situation and the age range these books are aimed at, I can understand them overlooking that.)
There’s a lot of build up toward the Starshine Day event and, again, it’s a little odd that the SDs don’t notice everyone else acting weird, but once again, they are distracted by their plans.
Gemma’s mission comes and immediately it’s clear that something is off about this one as well. With Leona’s help, Gemma sets things right and returns to Starland only to find their true adversary reveal themselves and their plan.
To me, the stand off scene feels a little rushed, but it works and the ending is, for the most part satisfying. I’m not crazy about the shooting star effect on the audience, but again, it makes sense in context.
It’s not my favorite book in the series, but it is a good closing chapter on the first story arc, and I’m eager to get the next book, Good Wish Gone Bad.
By this point, the Star Darlings have figured out they were wrong about who they thought was responsible for all their problems, but still haven’t figured out who is.
(As a reader, it’s pretty obvious who they *should* be suspecting, but considering the situation and the age range these books are aimed at, I can understand them overlooking that.)
There’s a lot of build up toward the Starshine Day event and, again, it’s a little odd that the SDs don’t notice everyone else acting weird, but once again, they are distracted by their plans.
Gemma’s mission comes and immediately it’s clear that something is off about this one as well. With Leona’s help, Gemma sets things right and returns to Starland only to find their true adversary reveal themselves and their plan.
To me, the stand off scene feels a little rushed, but it works and the ending is, for the most part satisfying. I’m not crazy about the shooting star effect on the audience, but again, it makes sense in context.
It’s not my favorite book in the series, but it is a good closing chapter on the first story arc, and I’m eager to get the next book, Good Wish Gone Bad.
January 1, 2017
This was an amazing book to read. It was absolutely the perfect ending to an amazing series. A lot of questions were answered, and there were plenty of fun plot twists. I'm looking toward to reading the spinoff book, Good Wish Gone Bad!
August 12, 2016
Cute series. This book wraps up the first story arc, but it looks like there are more stories to come.
May 4, 2017
Pretty good for the finale.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews