Author: Nicole Panteleakos
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool
Rating:
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| compelling |
Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Nova is eagerly awaiting the launch of the space shuttle Challenger--it's the first time a teacher is going into space, and kids across America will watch the event on live TV in their classrooms. Nova and her big sister, Bridget, share a love of astronomy and the space program. They planned to watch the launch together. But Bridget has disappeared, and Nova is in a new foster home.
While foster families and teachers dismiss Nova as severely autistic and nonverbal, Bridget understands how intelligent and special Nova is, and all that she can't express. As the liftoff draws closer, Nova's new foster family and teachers begin to see her potential, and for the first time, she is making friends without Bridget. But every day, she's counting down to the launch, and to the moment when she'll see Bridget again. Because Bridget said, "No matter what, I'll be there. I promise."
My opinion: It's a wonderful, important thing, giving voice to marginalized characters. It's an awesome responsibility too, especially when you give voice to someone who has no voice of her own. We often wonder what goes on in the mind of a non-verbal person. Panteleakos suggests a complex and troubled inner dialogue, a tenuous grasp on reality and a frustration with a world that doesn't try to understand. Nova's story is hopeful and heartbreaking. For the reader familiar with the Challenger disaster, knowing what is coming, the ways Nova's hopes will be dashed, that things will end so terribly just when it is all turning out so well, is compelling. With an ending that speaking to the hope for better things to come, it's an all around solid read and joins the ranks of such books as Mockingbird and Wonder.
More information: Planet Earth is Blue releases May 14.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
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