Books like A Trip to the Stars by Nicholas Christopher

When ten‑year‑old Loren is taken from his Manhattan adoptive aunt’s care, the abduction sets in motion two parallel journeys that span fifteen years. Loren is led to his great‑uncle Junius Samax, a wealthy former gambler living in a converted Las Vegas hotel filled with priceless art, antiques, and eccentric guests, where he learns the story of his mother and the circumstances of his adoption. Meanwhile, Loren’s aunt, Mala, unaware of the abduction but deeply grieving, abandons her studies and serves in the Navy Nursing Corps during the Vietnam War. On a hospital ship in the South Pacific, she falls in love with a wounded navigator, only for him to be declared missing in action on his next mission. Devastated, Mala embarks on a restless decade of travel—visiting islands around the globe—seeking closure for the losses that haunt her. Both Loren and Mala remain unaware of each other’s experiences until the novel’s final chapter brings their intertwined destinies to a miraculous resolution.

First publish date: 2000