A Constellation of Roses

by Miranda Asebedo
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: November 5th, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
My Rating: 
Ever since her mother walked out, Trix McCabe has been determined to make it on her own. And with her near-magical gift for pulling valuables off unsuspecting strangers, Trix is confident she has what it takes to survive. Until she’s caught and given a choice: jail time, or go live with her long-lost family in the tiny town of Rocksaw, Kansas. Trix doesn’t plan to stick around Rocksaw long, but there’s something special about her McCabe relatives that she is drawn to. Her aunt, Mia, bakes pies that seem to cure all ills. Her cousin, Ember, can tell a person’s deepest secret with the touch of a hand. And Trix’s great-aunt takes one look at Trix’s palm and tells her that if she doesn’t put down roots somewhere, she won’t have a future anywhere. Before long, Trix feels like she might finally belong with this special group of women in this tiny town in Kansas. But when her past comes back to haunt her, she’ll have to decide whether to take a chance on this new life . . . or keep running from the one she’s always known. With lovable and flawed characters, an evocative setting, and friendships to treasure, A Constellation of Roses is the perfect companion to Miranda Asebedo’s debut novel The Deepest Roots.
A foster kid moves in with her long lost pie selling Aunt. 
My initial thought going into A Constellation of Roses was that I will read anything set around small towns and pie baking. This novel was so much more than that. It was raw, emotional, and beautiful. The main character Trix is tossed around from foster home to foster home... Until she eventually ends up running away on her own. Only to be caught and then having to move in with her long lost aunt whom she has never met. 

Her aunt owns a small pie diner in the small town that she is from. The whole town believes the pies to have magical qualities to them. At first, Trix is not convinced. However, all the women in their family are said to have special magic talents. The story sets around her eccentric new family and I absolutely adored every minute of this book. It was the exact story that I had been needing to read. 

The way Trix's new family embraced her into their lives made me all fuzzy inside. Trix never had stability growing up with a drug addict mother. It was wonderful to see how easily she was embraced within the family. 

My favorite character by far was the eccentric Auntie. Her random thoughts and outspokenness made the novel 100% better. I wish all the characters were as brutally honest as her. I loved reading about all the different characters within the small town and hearing all the town gossip. I love any novel set in a small town for that very reason. It became very relatable and drew me in instantly. The story is all about belonging and is told beautifully.

I loved the writing style and how the author drew me in from the very first page. I have to check out some of her other books because I loved this one so much. A Constellation of Roses is about bringing your walls down and inviting others in.




Miranda Asebedo was born and raised in rural Kansas with a love of fast cars, open skies, and books. She carried that love of books to college, where she got her B.A. and M.A. in English, with an emphasis in Creative Writing and Literature. A Seaton Fellowship recipient, her short fiction has appeared in Kansas Voices, Touchstone, and Midway Journal. Miranda still lives on the prairie today with her husband, two kids, and two majestic bulldogs named Princess Jellybean and Captain Jack Wobbles. If Miranda's not writing or reading, she's most likely convinced everyone to load up in the family muscle car and hit the road.
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