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Exciting, funny, moving – and featuring joyous and authentic disabled representation – Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star is the must-read book for 8-12 year olds.
Cosima Unfortunate has spent all her life at the Home for Unfortunate Girls – a school where any disabled children, or children deemed different, are sent, whether their families want it or not. It is there that she meets her friends – Pearl, Mary and Diya – and they start to practise mini heists involving the theft of cakes, biscuits and other sweet goodies.
But when Cos finds out that Lord Francis Fitzroy, the explorer behind the Empire Exhibition, is planning to adopt them, she and her friends plot the biggest heist of their life. Instead of fondant fancies, they’re going to steal Fitzroy’s prized tiara, containing the legendary Star Diamond of India! But, as they start preparing for the day, Cosima finds herself drawing ever closer to discovering the one secret she’s always wanted to know – the truth about her parent.
Beautifully illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino.
About the author
Laura Noakes is a disabled writer and historian from Bedfordshire. She has written articles for Disability in Kidlit and Kettle Mag, and her poetry has been published in Scrittura Magazine. She was awarded her doctorate in legal history in 2021, and works at the best-named museum in Scotland, The Devil’s Porridge. She lives in beautiful Cumbria with her fiance, Connor, and her mischievous cat, Scout.
Read the reviews from our Young Readers
Review by Ciara, age 10
Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star, by Laura Noakes and illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino.
I really enjoyed this book because it was very exciting and I couldn’t wait to finish it, it is about a group of unfortunate girls who live in a home and they plan to stop something bad happening. Cosima was such a good friend and all the girls were like sisters. I love how brave Cosima and her friends were as they didn’t have the same life as other girls do. The ending was the best part. I would recommend this to my friends.
I give this 4 stars. Thanks for letting me do a review for Kidspot.
Review by Kyle, age 8
My name is Kyle and I am 8 years old. I am doing a book review for Kidspot NZ on the book Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star written by Laura Noakes.
This book is about a group of girls with disabilities who live in a home which is run by a mean brother and sister who make the girls work hard. But the girls are special and have awesome talents that make them a great team for exciting adventures. They like to play little pranks. One night, while doing a prank, they meet a rich man who wants to adopt them all. But that is where the adventure starts!
Cosmia really wants to know about her family. She only has a handkerchief that was with her when she was left at the home. The story is about her trying to solve the mystery of her past and find her real family.
I really liked this book! Sometimes it was a bit slow, but it got really exciting as I kept reading. There were lots of surprises and twists in the story. The characters were all different and had their own strengths and weaknesses, but they worked together like a family. I also liked that the book showed that even if you have difficulties or struggles, you can still achieve anything you set your mind to.
I give it 5 out of 5.
Review by Eva, age 10
Hi there, my name is Eva and today I’ll be reviewing a book named Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star.
For me this book wasn’t what I usually like to read, but in the end it turned out to be okay. Cosima Unfortunate Steals A Star is about a girl who is called – you can probably guess – Cosima, Cosima Unfortunate. She is an adventurous kid, who was dropped off to a girls only orphanage when she was only a baby. Their Cos met four friends, and they all work together to steal cakes from the pantry every morning.
One day when Cosima was climbing into the kitchen window, she overheard the horrifying matron in her office talking to somebody. Cos started eavesdropping and found out some incredible information about Empire Exhibition, which Lord Fitzroy -the person matron was chatting with- was running it and said something about a precious diamond tiara.
That night Cosima told her friends all about what she had overheard, and made some plans …
I would recommend this book to children that like adventures and different characters.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Review from Kaitlyn, age 12
Cosima is a 12 year old girl who resides at a girls orphanage for disabled children – a majority of the children do have family, but they have been ‘removed’ from society. The home is run by the Stain siblings. All day long, the girls are forced to pick rope, their food is awful and their beds are cold.
Cos doesn’t think their lives can get much worse until she overhears an evil-looking man asking to buy the 20 disabled girls – why would a man want 20 disabled girls? She comes up with a plot to stop him, and in the process figures out his evil plan.
Cosima is a high-spirited heroine, disabled but determined to win. I think what I really enjoyed was all of the unexpected plot twists and how her and all her friends are all good at different things which add up to success!
A negative point I can think of is how Cos and her friends steal [spoiler]. Their motive is good, but actually stealing [spoiler], well …
This book is thoroughly enjoyable and I think it is suitable for children aged 9+. On a scale of one to ten, I think I would rate it as a seven. A very enjoyable and slightly different read.
The reviewers were provided with a copy of the book for the purposes of the review. Views are those of the reviewers. This article contains information provided by HarperCollins.
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