Search This Blog
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
MG Road Trip Novel Warm, Entertaining, and Illuminating
Top Ten Tuesday: 2020 Top Ten Favorite Reads
Photo cred: Brenna Lee Photo |
It's Ally Carter! What More Do I Need to Say?
Mystery/Family Drama Novel a Nuanced, Touching Read
Harrowing Korean War Novel a Tense, Compelling Read
Family Drama Unfocused But Still Impactful
MG Debut Accessible and Empowering
MG Women's Rights Novel Important, Enjoyable
Debut MG Novel a Spuderrific Read
la Gordon Korman, Lincoln Peirce, and Jeff Kinney.
MG Challenger Novel a Liked-It-Didn't-Love-It Read
Cash, Fitch, and Bird Thomas are three siblings in seventh grade together in Park, Delaware. In 1986, as the country waits expectantly for the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger, they each struggle with their own personal anxieties.
Cash, who loves basketball but has a newly broken wrist, is in danger of failing seventh grade for the second time. Fitch spends every afternoon playing Major Havoc at the arcade on Main and wrestles with an explosive temper that he doesn’t understand. And Bird, his twelve-year-old twin, dreams of being NASA’s first female shuttle commander, but feels like she’s disappearing.
The Thomas children exist in their own orbits, circling a tense and unpredictable household, with little in common except an enthusiastic science teacher named Ms. Salonga. As the launch of the Challenger approaches, Ms. Salonga gives her students a project—they are separated into spacecraft crews and must create and complete a mission. When the fated day finally arrives, it changes all of their lives and brings them together in unexpected ways.
Told in three alternating points of view, We Dream of Space is an unforgettable and thematically rich novel for middle grade readers. (Plot summary from publisher)
We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly is an atmospheric novel that highlights an important historical event that I haven't seen addressed in fiction before. Kelly uses enough detail to vividly recreate the 80's for her 21st Century audience and capture the Challenger-inspired fervor that I remember well, although I was only 10 when the shuttle launched. These are the elements I enjoyed most in the novel, especially since I found it difficult to connect with the Thomas children. They all seemed cold, self-absorbed, and just not very likable. Plotwise, there's not tons going on in We Dream of Space, so it dragged a little bit for me. While I was particularly moved by Kelly's depiction of the characters' reactions in the immediate aftermath of the Challenger explosion, overall, this book was definitely a liked-it-didn't-love-it read for me. Too bad.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. You?)
Grade:
MG Novel-in-Verse Realistic and Relatable
Merry Christmas!
Dress Code Problems Amongst Other Discussion-Worthy Topics in Contemporary MG Novel
Efrén Divided Provides Intimate Peek at Illegal Immigration Through the Eyes of Those It Impacts Most
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
-
-
Time Travel Thursday3 hours ago
-
-
Waiting for Gilbert8 hours ago
-
#ThrowbackThursday. December 2011 Part 58 hours ago
-
Bart’s Favorite Products This Year9 hours ago
-
-
Christmas Song Book Tag 202411 hours ago
-
-
Love You A Latke By Amanda Elliot12 hours ago
-
Do you enjoy exercising?12 hours ago
-
-
-
Alter Ego by Alex Segura1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
I have been reading...2 days ago
-
Assume Nothing by Joshua Corin2 days ago
-
-
-
Beneath the Estate by Nick Allen Brown2 days ago
-
-
-
-
The Bletchley Riddle4 days ago
-
-
-
Sunday Post 5581 week ago
-
-
I'm Still Reading - This Was My October3 weeks ago
-
Open for Murder by Mary Angela5 weeks ago
-
Reading Recap September 20242 months ago
-
-
Review: The Duke and I3 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus4 months ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ▼ 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)