"Kindness and raw luck undergird Night Came with Many Stars . And like Dickens's young heroes, Van Booy's determined souls act with their whole hearts--as does this brave, fierce novel--to earn what good may come."-- Boston Globe In Kentucky, back in 1933, Carol's daddy lost his 13-year-old daughter in a game of cards. Award-winning author Simon Van Booy's spellbinding novel spans decades as he tells the story of Carol and the people in her life. Incidents intersect and lives unexpectedly change course in this masterfully interwoven story of chance and choice that leads home again to a night blessed with light. "What you give in this world," an old man tells his grandson, "will be given back to you." Those words illuminate the actions within this unforgettable novel and its connected characters. A young man survives two nearly fatal accidents.

A Black family saves an orphaned white boy. A pregnant teenager is rescued by the side of the road. A teenager with developmental disabilities is given his first job. Each incident grows in meaning and power over many decades as we see connections sometimes felt but not always apparent to the people themselves. "Everything was moving," observes Samuel (Carol's grandson) in the Kentucky woods. "An invisible force that was everywhere, and made everything touch." Told by a master storyteller, Night Came with Many Stars is a rare novel that reveals how wondrous, mysterious, and magically connected life can be--the light Simon Van Booy creates in this novel illuminates our own lives. "Cycles of racism, violence, and misogyny are disrupted by the grace-filled actions of friends, relatives, and strangers.

This well-crafted and often serendipitous saga recognizes that family cannot be escaped but can be expanded."-- Kirkus "Spellbinding.imbued with a profound compassion for the humanity of its characters. It is a gorgeously written, deeply moving triumph."--Gabriel Byrne, Walking with Ghosts "I read this novel in a headlong rush, unable to break free of its spell. Beautiful as an old bruise, plain-spoken as a prayer, Night Came with Many Stars rings hard and true with the poetry of real life. Van Booy knows that love and heartache go hand-in-hand--and that cold hard reality is no match for the dreams and longings each of us carry inside."--Christina Baker Kline, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Orphan Train.