I have read A Star Shines Through by Anna Desnitskaya a few times. The first time I felt it was a good story. It wasn’t WOW but not eh either. The second time I read it I felt that it had more punch. I think it really depends on the mood you and/or the reader is in for it to make the most impact. (All the times I have read were via an online reader copy, but it is now currently available). 
The author bases the story a bit on her own experiences with the recent Russian-Ukrainian war. Her family was on vacation when it started, and then were unable to return home. But when they finally found a new place, even though everyone was together, it did not feel like home. It was not until she put the star in their window, like they had back home, did things start to feel less unfamiliar, uncomfortable, less foreign. And the young girl and her mother do the same thing in the book. Forced to flee everything she knows, everything now is different: food, the apartment, her father is not there, the streets, smells and people are different. Even her and her mom are different. It is not until they, too, but the star-shaped cardboard lamp in the window that allows this new place to start feeling like home. 
The idea of being a refugee is not new, and even a modern refugee is not new. However, due to the fact the characters, though presenting white, do not say where they come from, it allows it to be adapted to a few different peoples. It also could be used for a smaller change in someone’s life (moving in general, having to leave home due to a divorce, or death in the family) but of course, it does start with the mention of war.
The illustrations are what tie things together. The cover gives you a good idea of what is to come inside. They are nice, realistic but have a softer side to them. When we are in the “unfamiliar” and “scary” world we have darker elements, but as soon as things start to work out and become more “home” the light comes into play and things are overall lighter.
