Dreams by Starlight enlightens while it encourages readers.

Camille Wright loves math and has plans to enroll in Princeton's Aerospace Engineering program after graduating. Being a wallflower through high school allowed her plenty of time to study and get top grades, but now, her academic advisor insists she needs to create a more rounded portfolio for college admission. Camille reluctantly signs up for drama, never realizing that her fifteen minutes in the sun will forever destroy the wallflower in her.

Jaylon Quinn has it all: good looks, confidence, a steady and beautiful girlfriend, and the lead role in every school play. Yet, as graduation time nears, he has to decide on the direction his life will take. Being a star in high school doesn't guarantee a successful future. Events in his life lead him to question some long-held dreams, and wonder if they were his dreams at all.

Realistic and riveting dialogue move this story along, carrying readers on a current of emotions. Author Staci Stallings has a true talent for creating scenes and characters using dialogue. This reviewer felt as if she were beside these characters, listening to their conversations and commiserating with them. Because of this, the story has a smooth flow, making it a delight to read.

Especially wonderful was the author's use of the drama class and the assignments given to the students. The drama class became a mirror to the main story, as the author uses the school play and the reading assignments to move the action along. This part of the story gets high marks for creativity, as well as for the research involved.

The main and secondary characters were all brought to life with an artist's touch. The dialogue exposes their hearts, dreams and fears. The author gently shows readers the minds of her characters by letting them tell their own story in their own words. The result is a moving and memorable experience.

While the plot involves teenagers, this story will be appreciated by everyone who loves a well-written tale, filled with innocence and romance. This is the kind of story that a mother can read alongside her daughter.

Dreams by Starlight encourages readers with this wonderful line: "All that you can do is all that you must". Staci Stallings has given readers her "all" in this book, and this reviewer calls it a "must-read". Thanks Staci, for writing something worthwhile!

Joyce Handzo

Although it has been a little while since I read this story, it is still pretty fresh in my mind. With the amount of books that I read and review, that is saying a lot!

Staci Stallings has a real knack for portraying budding love in a heart-skipping, page- turning kind of way. Once again I really enjoyed this tender love story between two young teens. Camille, is a book worm who enjoys math far more than she enjoys drama.

However, up for stretching her horizons, she signs up for a drama class that proves to be more painful than a visit to the dentist's office - at first. Once she discovers Jaylon in the class, it begins to take on a new interest. However, Jaylon is the super-cool boyfriend of the most popular girl in the school. A girl who has no time for anyone - especially not shy, quiet, smart Camille. But Jaylon is tired of playing back-up to his girlfriend's solo and begins to take an interest in Camille who isn't afraid of showing her intelligence. The two become unlikely partners and more than a dramatic partnership begins to develop. Camille's heart is untested though and bruises easily. Will she learn to trust this super jock with her writing and her heart? Will her friends ever accept that Jaylon may have honorable intentions towards Camille?

The delicate emotions of young love are rivetting. It's like taking a trip back to highschool (albeit without one's own fragile heart on-line) and experiencing the excruciatingly beautiful pangs of first love. Will one ever get tired of experiencing it? I think not! That is why you will really enjoy this terrific story!

Besides the great story line, the writing is lovely. The descriptions are vivid and the emotions are genuine. The conversations are smooth flowing and lacking any artificiality or akwardness that can come with writing dialogue. Staci Stallings has definitely found her niche in writing beautiful love stories. Check out this book! You won't regret it!

Tracy Albiston, The Book Nook

Dreams by Starlight is a delightful story of unlikely love.

High school seniors Camille Wright and Jaylon Quinn are from two different worlds. She is a bespectacled math whiz bound for Princeton; he, the handsome romantic lead in all the school plays. Jaylon enjoys wealth and popularity, while Camille struggles to raise her little sister in a dingy apartment. But when the school counselor places Camille in a theater class to increase her chances of obtaining a scholarship to Princeton, she and Jaylon discover they have more in common than they ever could have imagined.

Staci Stallings' tale of blossoming attraction kept me spellbound from the first moment. The fast-paced action and authentic dialog transported me back to my own high school days, vividly recalling for me the turbulent emotions of adolescence. The conflicts between characters rang true, as did the development of the relationship between the two sweethearts. Ms. Stallings sensitively described the insecurities of youth and the healing power of acceptance. I especially appreciated the author's ability to convey sexual tension between the protagonists without resorting to titillation or vulgarity. In fact, throughout the book she is careful to emphasize that, when all is said and done, integrity, honor and respect always win out over self-gratification.

Dreams by Starlight is a sweet love story along the lines of A Walk to Remember. If I had a teenaged daughter, this is one book I would highly recommend she read.

Reviewed by Donna Chapman Gilbert, author of Safe Pasture

P.S. I really liked the story. In fact, halfway into it, the next page disappeared for a moment as I scrolled down. I almost panicked! I HAD to find out what happened to Jaylon and Camille. Fortunately, the disappearance was due to a momentary glitch, and soon the page reappeared.

If you pictured in your mind the stereotype wallflower, she would be named Camille Wright. Seventeen years old, a senior in high school and just about totally invisible to her classmates, she thinks. When her career counselor insists that Camille needs to expand her class schedule to include something less studious, in order to improve her chances for a good university entrance, she chooses drama as the lesser of two evils.

Meeting Nick McGee in drama class is the beginning of change in Camilles life. He pulls her into the warmth of his friendship without ever giving her a chance to think about backing out. Two minutes after that her best girlfriend Lexxie and Nick fall for each other, and at first sight.

The object of Camilles interest, on the other hand, is Jaylon Quinn and she worships him from afar, knowing that he doesnt even notice she is anywhere near, even though they have drama class together. It takes an amazing experiment to have the two really begin to see the other, the self-consciousness, the hurt, the pain that teenagers might feel, on the verge of entering a new phase in their lives. They begin to realize and understand what the other is like; how similar they are inside, and appreciate what governs the others emotions.

The author has captured so vividly the feeling of what theatre work must be like and I was really fascinated by the descriptive environment used to make a play come to life. What techniques are used by an actor to give his or her role life, to make it real.

As the characters grow into the roles they've been assigned, the emotional growth in their private lives blossoms parallel and is so heart warming and vividly portrayed to the reader. An extra note: Ms. Stallings brings so to life Jaylon's theatre group for children that I felt as if I was sitting there among them watching him perform. This novel is a beautifully written, truly wonderful story.

Overall rating: 5 Hearts

Sensuality rating: Sweet

Reviewer: Glenda K. Bauerle, The Romance Studio
August 31, 2005

Camille Wright is trying to get into Princeton's Aerospace Engineering program, but her high school counselor says her academic career isn't well rounded enough. Camille finds herself an unwilling member of the drama class. Camille is the class wallflower who feels more comfortable in a math class holding a calculator than in drama running lines. While Camille struggles to maintain her non-existence existence in the bright lights of the stage, she is learning the hard lesson of life that where you want to be just might not be where you are destined to be.

Camille soon finds a companion for drama class. Nick McGee is a friendly, nice looking young man who offers to be her partner in all the exercises. But as soon as Nick lays eyes on Camille's best friend Lexie he is totally smitten. Camille is suddenly back to being invisible and feeling left out. Not that she is too heartbroken over her friends' new found relationship. Camille has her eye on the school's heartthrob and drama's leading man, Jaylon. Maybe drama class isn't so bad, after all. But does Camille have a prayer at becoming Jaylon's leading lady? Jaylon has always been the master of his universe. He is a spoiled and obnoxious rich kid who has begun to take a second look at his life. He has to make some serious choices that will decide the direction his life will take.

This book took this reviewer back to the good ol' days. Dreams by Starlight is a delightful story of teenage life. Author Staci Stallings has captured the essence of high school from the awkward "geeks" to the kings and queens of the school cliques. The characters are so realistic and true to life.

Camille only wants to be left alone with her math classes and calculator. She forces herself out of her comfort zone to better her chances of getting into the college of her choice. Ms. Stallings does a superb job in creating this character's personality. Down to Camille's sense of responsibility to her younger sister, Camille is a caring and heartwarming young woman.

Jaylon is a wonderful character who is at a crossroads in his life. He has always been the star in and out of school. Now he has to decide who he wants to make happy... himself or others who have other expectations of him. While Jaylon Quinn is penned as the leading man the author also goes into detail about Camille's friendship with Nick.

Nick is a delightful and very human character. He has held a grudge against Jaylon for years for a slight that Jaylon doesn't even realize he committed. Nick befriends Camille when he spots her alone and looking out of place in class. The one character that isn't as well defined is Lexie, Camille's best friend and Nick's girlfriend, however this really doesn't detract from the story.

This reviewer was enthralled with Dreams by Starlight and highly recommends this story to readers of all ages. This tale is full of innocent teenage romance. The plot is well thought out and the book flows smoothly from the very first page. Buy it, keep it and read it again and again. It won't disappoint.

Reviewed by Penny