Overview

Set in the uncertain months after 9/11, Starlight in a Dark Sky: Breadcrumbs to the Stars is a coming-of-age novel about resilience, creative self-expression, and the quiet bravery found on the Homefront. Sixteen-year-old Eli Fomes knows the invisible weight carried by military families. When her father's deployment stretches far longer than expected, she must navigate shifting friendships, growing responsibilities, and a community that feels suspended in time. To cope, Eli creates a secret zine that becomes a private space for honesty and reflection. What begins as a personal outlet gradually connects students across her school who also feel unseen. Through old friends, new friendships, late-night stargazing, and early 2000s mixtapes, Eli discovers how small acts of creativity can offer light during uncertain seasons. Thoughtful and emotionally grounded, this novel explores identity, belonging, and the strength young people find in one another. It will resonate with teen readers, educators, and librarians seeking authentic stories of adolescence and military-connected life, and will appeal to readers who enjoy The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Eleanor and Park, The Things We Leave Behind, and The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. ""A nostalgic, heartwarming look at adolescence in a military family, filled with the emotions and rhythms of life on the Homefront."" Stars and Stripes (Living Section, Oct 24, 2025) Also featured in Stars and Stripes, the global newspaper connecting U.S. service members and families worldwide.

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Reviews

""A nostalgic and heartwarming story that captures the rhythms of adolescence in a military family."" Review by Alex Wilson, Stars and Stripes, Living Section, October 24 2025

Author Information

Jerry V. Behimino has served more than twenty-five years within the U.S. Department of Defense, shaping a career built on integrity, adaptability, and a deep respect for the human stories that emerge from military life. A former Navy servicemember and lifelong storyteller, he draws from two decades of deployments, relocations, and community experiences to create fiction that explores resilience, belonging, and quiet courage on the home front.He is the author of Starlight in a Dark Sky: Breadcrumbs to the Stars, a young-adult novel set in the early 2000s that follows a Navy teenager coming of age in the months after 9/11. The book has been praised by Stars and Stripes as ""a nostalgic heartwarming story childhood in a military family.""Behimino's other works include Exquisite: The Weight of Shadows, along with essays and short fiction that explore transformation, emotional endurance, and the intersections of memory and service. His greatest inspiration comes from his daughters, Thea and Aliyah, whose laughter and late-night conversations continue to bring life and hope to every chapter.Now sharing the stories, he once tucked away, Behimino invites readers to follow the small breadcrumbs that lead toward healing, connection, and rediscovery.

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