Jim Glass’ senior year was supposed to be simple. But his life in a small North Carolina town in 1941 has become anything but simple. He is supposed to be with Norma, but he doesn’t love her – or right now even like her. He wants to be with Chrissie, but she is dating a guy Jim hates who has left for the Navy. On top of that, Chrissie won’t even look in his direction. For Jim, time may be short because the winds of war are blowing and he will need his family to guide him through life and politics in a small town that he doesn’t understand.

“The weather matched Jim’s mood perfectly. He found it a good day to labor under the almost public burden of a not-quite-secret unrequited love. His friends, both the guys on the steps and the girls who pretended to be offended by their existence, had begun to tease him about Christine Steppe – which genuinely puzzled Jim because he had spoken of his feelings about Chrissie to no one, and certainly not to Dennis Deane, who these days, when the bus from Lynn’s Mountain pulled up in front of the school, launched into a ridiculous, mincing recitation of “Jim and Chrissie sitting in a tree” that even Jim had to admit was funny.”

The Blue Star follows Jim Glass – who is introduced in Jim the Boy (2000) – through his senior year of high school. Earley does a masterful job of immersing us in the rural American of the early 1940’s. Images of the town and townsfolk of Aliceville are crisp and clear, bringing to life that bygone era of American when it was about to lose its innocence for good.

The characters of The Blue Star feel authentic and the writing really allows us to feel who they are. However, none of the characters, including Jim, ever really surprise us. They are all pretty normal people leading pretty normal lives – and maybe that is Earley’s whole point. There is a soft, simplicity to his writing style that makes the story warm and comfortable to curl up next to the fireplace with.

The story itself follows a classic love triangle of boy pursuing the girl across the tracks rather than the obvious choice who is hung up on him. But the relationships lack much emotional angst beyond the three participants themselves. The rest of the town seems oblivious to what is happening, leading to little tension or depth to the story. The ending is also a bit trite, if not unexpected. Even so, The Blue Star is an enjoyable, comfortable read that serves as a bit of an antidote to high stakes novels with cliff hanger endings. It is slower-paced literature that doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is – a story of a boy falling in love. If that is something you are looking for, The Blue Star will serve you quite well.