“Like Lorna Landvik and J. Ryan Stradal, Jan Lefebvre has a wonderful ear for the cadence of Midwestern life, and an appreciation for the small moments between us that are so much bigger. There’s heartbreak in this book, but also so much good humor, and hope. Reading this beautifully tender novel, I kept thinking that if A Man Called Ove were set in Central Minnesota in the 1970s, it might be a little bit like this. In the end, Little Stars is a plea for compassion and kindness in this world, and we need it.”

Shannon Olson, author of Welcome to My Planet: Where English Is Sometimes Spoken and Children of God Go Bowling.

Sal Schmidt, a middle-aged bachelor in 1974, lives a lonely life in central Minnesota, employed as a maintenance worker while caring for his mentally ill brother, Art. When a sudden event forces Sal into a moment of heroism and, thereby, local celebrity, his secluded ways spin out of control, forcing him to live in the larger world he avoids and mistrusts. He discovers that, when he was young and serving in the Navy, his mother betrayed him, causing Sal to lose his chance at love and leading him to descend into seclusion. The shock of his mother’s betrayal sets Sal yearning for what might have been, and he finally acts, daring to dream of romance and wondering if he might attain a ray of happiness if he is brave enough to let in a little light.