Silent Star

by Tracie Peterson

In the 1940s, the small Pennsylvania town of Haven is rather subdued with their young men facing battles in far-away Europe. Young Andy Gilbert, burdened with his job of delivering telegrams bringing the news of those missing or killed in action, faces the coming holidays with dread and discouragement. With each new message he must deliver- met by screaming mothers, grief-stricken wives, and weeping families--he longs to join the ranks of the numbered dead. Only one elderly woman recognizes the pain and suffering tormenting Andy--and it is through her wisdom that the stars again can shine for Andy and for a town that desperately needs the hope those stars represent. A touching novella book from a bestselling novelist.

Genres: Christmas, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, World War II, Historical

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Tracie Peterson is a bestselling author who writes in both historical and contemporary genres. Her novels reveal her love for research as well as her strong desire to develop emotionally meaningful characters and stories for her readers. Tracie and her family live in Montana.

pen name: Janelle Jamison

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really heartwarming story about WW2 home front during the Christmas season. Andy has become ostracized in town because he is the one bringing the telegraphs that tell families their loved ones are lost, wounded, or dead. A bare hint of romance flavors the story, but mostly it is a tale of town and relationships and how Andy can find a place in humanity once more.

Ages 13+

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing that I love about Tracie Petereson's books is that she puts you in the shoes of the characters. Makes you feel what they are going through.

This book is made your heart ache for the people of the small town. Most of their sons, brothers and husbands going to war. The display of blue stars around the town that eventually turned to gold stars. It was heartbreaking. I can't imagine working in the telegram office and having to bring bad news to the people in your town.


Here are a few of my favorite lines:

page 30
"But even when the drapes were pulled there was the stark, unforgettable reminder of the blue and gold stars that represented those in the service. Blue for the living. Gold for the dead. Banners of recognition and pride. Banners of hope … and of sorrow."

page 42
“Delivering telegrams is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I might as well be a murderer. I bring the news of death and people hate me for it. You have no idea how they avoid me.”"

page 44
“They are in pain, Andy, and people in pain often do not understand the wounds they give others. They lash out, cutting and maiming, mindless of their actions because they are blinded by the anguish that fills their souls. You mustn’t judge them too harshly.”"

page 60
"All across town the tale was told in the stars. Blue changed to gold as heart after heart was broken in loss."

page 80
“It’s hard because you don’t practice. And you don’t practice because it’s hard. You have to try—you have to give it all you’ve got.”"

page 100
“These are hard times and we need to be working together, not tearing each other apart.”

page 100
“You can’t spend too much time feeling sorry for yourself when you’re caught up helping other folks with their problems.”

page 107
“Well we don’t have a lot of money, but we know how to be charitable with our time and efforts.”

page 120
"They are blinded by the problems and trials of their own lives. They cannot see or feel anything else. It isn’t how God would have it be. God calls us to bare one another’s burdens, to help those in need, minister to those who are suffering. People seem to have forgotten all about that.”

page 146
“Andy, Jesus knows the wounds others have given you. He knows its depth and width. He knows the pain. But, Andy, He also knows how to mend this wound—how to make your heart whole again.”

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely have a preference for heavier books and also don't mind books that are a bit darker. However, this one had a very gloomy and depressing feel. I felt like I had a black cloud over me every time I played this audio book. It was well into the midpoint of the book before any ray of hope seemed to even peek through, and it remained gloomy feeling to me until the very end. It did end up having a positive message, and I really loved how an older woman took in a young man under her wing. He needed her but she needed him just as much. And she put everything on the line for him. I loved that.

[Andrea Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve ever read that featured a fellow delivering telegrams during WWII. My goodness, but it was a heartbreaker! And I loved every single second of it. *input cheesy grin here*

The grief and heartache were just as palpable as the friendship and forgiveness splattered all over the pages. The small-town feel provided spectacular atmosphere. This was definitely my kind of story.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Oh my, how heartbreaking!" was my first thoughts when I got a chapter or so into this book. And it certainly does hold a special sort of sadness. But there is hope, too. There's always hope. <3

The story—ahh, it turned out so sweet! Andy and Estella and Mary Beth... *hugs them all* The friendships were amazing. I enjoyed the story and the hints of what's to come. The only thing I needed at the end of the story was to find out what happened to Sammy...

Four blue stars out of five!

[Allen Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that was emotional and heartfelt. I was crying by the end, but then I'm a crybaby anyway. I love the way the author incorporated God and Andy finding his way, by reading Isaiah 53. This was the main verse for the entire book. Expertly done with him doubting his feelings and then asking Jesus to forgive him.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautiful story takes place during World War Ii and recounts the story of a young orphan who has lost all hope, an elderly neighbor who befriends him, and the powerful message Jesus shared with humankind.

[Christine Maynor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one like all of Tracie Peterson’s books was amazing! I love all of her books but this one in particular really tugged at my heart strings. I love the transformation of Andy when he has people to love and finds faith in God.

[Lori Henrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andy and his father were in an accident that gave Andy a limp and took his father's life. Andy had to leave school to get a job to help support this mother. Because of his injury Andy wasn't able to become a solider. Instead he took a job in the telegraph office. His main job was delivering telegrams to the local families. Most of the news he brought to his neighbors was not good and they began to blame Andy for his part in getting the news to them. At his lowest point he met Mrs. Nelson. They met at the graves of his parents. Andy never imagined what that the chance meeting would change his life.

This is a great story. It is amazing to me the damage that people can do to each other with their actions. Not sure why it surprises me, but it does. People can be very cruel. The style of writing was very easy to read and the characters very likeable. Very nice!!

[Jim B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I think there will be Christians who enjoy this book and think of it as a variety of the Mitford series books, I felt that it lacked something that Mitford has. It's hard for me to define what was missing; the story contains compassion, faith, suffering and Christ.

I was ready to criticize the author for reducing Christian faith to "buckle down and do it" or positive thinking when suddenly the gospel was brought in, and not just in a "God loves you" way.

Anyway, an easy relaxing read -- Silent Star brings back the sad side of a small town in the 1940's, and has a satisfying ending.

[Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this book a three and a half stars, but opted for the four stars. "Sometimes it hurts to believe." I had never really given much thought to the young men who had to deliver telegrams during WW11, but this book gives an idea of what it might have been like. It's a love story of a different kind with the struggle of faith when everything seems lost. "God works to help us eliminate the clutter. Not by taking away loved ones, but rather by showing us ways to rely more on Him and less on the world"

[Mauoijenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick little up beat read. The main character has a hard life and then worst of all he has to bring the band news from the military through telegrams back during the Nazi Germany invasion, bringing death as he called it upon his small town. It was a really quick read.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two lonely, hurting persons find each other in the midst of a war-saddened era in American history. What a beautifully written story. This author delves into the psyche of human nature, that when people hurt, they hurt others. Sometimes they don't even realize they are dumping their hurt on someone else until a turn of events brings it to their attention.

Andy Gilbert was a young man who lived alone in his parents' house. His mother had recently died of cancer and he missed her. When his father died earlier in a car accident, Andy had had to quit school to earn a living and take care of his mother. He became a telegram delivery boy. At a time when all his friends and schoolmates had gone off to fight in the Great War (WWII), he was forced to stay home, classified as 4F because of a painful foot injury. However, the physical pain was nothing compared to the change of attitudes the townspeople of this small Pennsylvania village had toward him. Sometimes his telegrams brought bad news to families with sons, cousins, and nephews at war. So now he was avoided and shunned, and superstition overtook small town closeness. It was a sad plight all the delivery boys shared. But none felt it as strongly as Andy did. He was truly alone.

Estella Nelson was a widow who had moved in with her mother after her husband's untimely and sudden death 10 years ago. Now that her mother had passed on, she had moved back to her hometown. One day she came across a young man who was obviously distressed, grieving at his parents' graves. This chance meeting became the beginning of a deep friendship where each fulfilled a need the other had for acceptance and companionship.

All wrapped together is the poignancy, the tragedy and meanness of human loss and sadness, the Christmas spirit in the true sense of the word, and victory in overcoming such human frailty. The very claim that God has overcome the pain in the world is encapsulated in this holiday short story. If Christmas means even the slightest bit of loneliness and sadness to you, I think you will experience the essence of God's love while reading this book. I highly recommend it.

[Elizabeth Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silent Star by Tracie Peterson is a standalone Christmas novel set in Pennsylvania during WWII. It realistically deals with the emotional upheaval for those on the home front caused by war, especially during the holiday season. We meet characters who work as telegram delivery "boys" who feel very lonely/depressed/ ostracized by the community at large. Because they deliver the "the war department regrets to inform you" telegrams--first that a loved one is missing, then shortly thereafter that he/she has been killed in action--the community erroneously thinks/feels that if they ignore these "boys" then the loved one in harm's way won't be killed in action. Rarely, the second telegram says that the soldier has been wounded, but this was not as common.

We also learn how rations affected the home front. Holiday meals, meals to tempt an invalid to eat to grow healthy and strong, medicines, were all in short supply. People who banded together to help each other found a way.

This book brought my parents' stories back to me. They were both young adults during WWII. My father could not serve because of health issues, a fact that upset him until his death in 1998 at the age of eighty. He was an "essential worker" in first a factory and then the oilfield, but he never felt his service was "good enough" or that he had served his country well. My mother's family was one of those who received a telegram after Pearl Harbor.

[Barbara Wester]

This is another book set durning war time in a small community and how it affects the people there. It is very well written and keeps you wanting to read more to find out what happened, that is why I read it so fast and it is also a small book. It speaks to to the bad and goodness in human natural and when one older woman in the community, befriends a young man who has been shunned by the town due to his occupation, she shows him he is still loved and valued. On Christmas Eve, she calls out the rest of the community for their bad behavior towards this young man and how the whole community turns around because of it. Very tearful, so get you tissues ready. I highly recommend this book, beautiful story!

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short but sweet novella is the first of Tracie’s I’ve picked up but certainly not the last! In Silent Star, we follow Andy Gilbert as he is given the hard and difficult task of delivering telegrams to the town of Haven, PA.

Because of his life employment and a limp, he is looked down upon by the people of his town and is often referred to as the “Boogyman”. Having lost his parents, Andy is more alone than ever.

Through kind and thoughtful neighbors, Andy slowly learns of God’s love for him and that he is of immense value to the little town. Overall, this book taught me that every soul is of worth to Him, even a boy who brings silent stars.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow and steady story about Andy Gilbert, a young man unable to serve in WWII bc of a car accident injury, who has the unfortunate task of delivering the devastating telegrams to fallen soldier’s families. The town starts to treat him like it’s his fault, to the point where he’s shunned and isolated. He’s grieving the loss of his own parents and dealing with being alone from his loved ones, and now the town. He feels so alone until he chances to meet Estella, a widow who has unfailing kindness and love to share. She helps him in so many ways, but it’s also helping her (because she knows what it is to be lonely too). A sweet story of a found family in the time of grief and depression.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet, pleasant story w/o being cloying or saccharin. There's a Jesus message that I think would be irritating to non-believers, but is a well-written and pleasant story, like a good Sunday sermon, for those of us that are Christians but get a little irritated w/people NOT doing what Jesus would do. IDK that I'd recommend this to just anyone, but it was worth my time, especially because it's quick and concise.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written story about the horrors of war and how every job if effected by it. Andy delivers the telegrams...the ones who tell of those missing in action, of those who have died. People start to hate seeing Andy and Andy hates himself for the job that he must do. As the isolation sets in, Andy becomes very alone. And when Andy becomes sick, he almost dies because there is no one to take care of him. But, someone does care but will it be in time to save Andy?

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet story for the holidays. This book is set during WW2 in a small Pennsylvania town. Because of its setting one of the topics of the story is dealing with greef. If you don't like sad stories or the topic hits to close to home this may not be the story for you. I did enjoy it and I thought the way the subject was handled was really well done.

[Marty Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A WWII Christmas story with a beautiful lesson.

So many great lessons in this WWII Christmas story. Unable to join in the fight, Andy was left to deliver the telegrams that told families their loved ones fate. This made the town's folk scorn Andy. Heavy heart, Andy didn't think he'd ever be happy again. But, God had other plans.

[Jan Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet story takes place in Haven, Pennsylvania where Hope was fragile. Estella shares her wisdom and gives reassurance to those around her, especially Andy. I never thought about the burden those who worked in the telegraph office had during time of war. Estelle and Andy bought a gift to the town that was lost in sorrows.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this randomly from my list of available books and I'm so glad I did. I've always loved the idea of the Bethlehem star and how it showed the way to the babe, and although this story has little to do with Bethlehem, it is a story about returning to the Savior who understands and knows all we've been through (or are going through). A lovely lovely story.

[Shecki B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. I am normally a fan of Tracie Peterson, but I didn’t like this one. I’m sure a huge part of it is that I have sons serving, and where my head was at the time. I cried my way through this book. It’s well written, but should come with a Kleenex warning for readers with a military connection.

[Darlene Geider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love one another

I liked this book very much it showed how people treat each other and the power of the Lord to teach them to love each other. Not to put the blame of your problems on someone else. How love and acceptance can help a lonely person.

[Rhonda Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

With so many love stories out there, Silent Star was a welcomed break. We all need love and understanding! This story is about a lonely young man in a small town delivering tragic news to neighbors which further alienates him. I’ll stop right there…

[Lauri Gentry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of this story was so heartbreaking I almost wanted to give it up. Along the way it became a heartwarming story of love (not romantic). Loving your neighbor, loving those that have been shunned through no fault of their own.

[Karen Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a first read of Tracie Peterson and prob won’t be my last. Super easy read, good story line, and great message of hope for everyday not just the Christmas season. Felt like I knew Andy and looked forward to seeing what was going on with him from reading to reading. Highly recommend.

[Cyberpunkkitten]

My boyfriend wanted me to read this ~

A stirring Christmas story about a young man in a small town who delivers telegrams amid the crisis of World War II. Warning: It is a Christian book, but carries a feel good and warm message of hope and love.

[Norma Boles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tracie Peterson combines historical facts of WWII with likable characters in this short, easy read.