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| Plot Summary of Troubling a Star |
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"As the book opens, Vicky Austen, an ordinary teenage girl from Massachusetts, is slowly freezing to death. Trapped, abandoned on an ice floe in the Antarctic Ocean, she is fighting a long fight against the temptation to lie down on the ice and sleep. The suspense is maintained as the story of how she comes to be on the chance of a lifetime trip to Antarctica is told in flashback. She is following in the footsteps of a friend of the family, a marine biologist, who lost his life in Antarctic in suspicious circumstances. To reach the continent of ice she travels through a South American country that has just suffered a political coup, and the Falkland Islands of Great Britain. She has a varied and unusual set of travelling companions, and the mysteries deepen as the book unfolds. Her experiences on this trip are of love, beauty, environmental concerns, and the deadly games of world politics."
Michael JR Jose, Resident Scholar
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"Vicky Austin has just moved back to Thornhill from New York with her family and is trying to fit into her old school where everyone is somehow different except for her older brother John's friend Adam Eddington the 3rd. Adam surprises Vicky and her family firstly by introducing Vicky to his Great-Aunt Serena, who is a very rich lady, and then with the news he is going to Antarctica to study at LeNoir Station on Eddington Point, which is named for his Great-Uncle Adam Eddington. Adam promises Vicky that he'd keep in touch. But Aunt Serena has other plans. She goes and buys tickets for her Cook and Vicky to go to Antarctica to visit Cook's brother and Adam. Vicky can't believe her luck. Adam does keep his promise. But there are strange postcards left in Vicky's school locker, and suddenly, when Vicky is already on her way South, Adam isn't signing off his letters with 'Love'. Vicky finds herself entangled in a web of lies, espionage and a triangle of love on board the Argosy. Does this mystery involve everyone or only a few people?"
Glenna Howell, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Troubling a Star |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Moderately Challenging
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
Exploring into the wild
Yes
Plotlets:
- surviving elements in wilderness
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Ages 7-14
Water adventure
Yes
Water:
- on the ocean surface
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings towards lover
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- infantry soldier
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
The antagonists are:
- government bureaucracy
- Latin American/Asian/African Dictator
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Central
- South
Ice Caps/Sea?
Yes
Where?
- South Pole
Jungles?
Yes
Jungles
- lost city
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Unusual forms of death
- frozen
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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