Cash loves basketball, Dr. J, and a girl named Penny; he's also in danger of failing seventh grade for a second time. Fitch spends every afternoon playing Major Havoc at the arcade 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 Nelson Thomas siblings exist in their own orbits, circling a tense, crowded, and unpredictable household, dreaming of escape, dreaming of the future, dreaming of space. They have little in common except an enthusiastic science teacher named Ms. Salonga—a failed applicant to the Teacher in Space program—who encourages her students to live vicariously through the launch. Cash and Fitch take a passive interest, but Bird builds her dreams around it.
When the fated day arrives, it changes everything.
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published May 5, 2020
by Greenwillow Books
4/5 stars
Erin Entrada Kelly takes us back to 1986 with the launch of the space shuttle Challenger. I distinctly remember the events leading up to the launch and the tragic aftermath.
Here we have 3 seven graders anxiously look forward to launch day. Told mostly from the point of view of 12 year-old Bird she dreams of one day becoming an astronaut herself, but with a disappointing homelife she knows her parents don't take her seriously.
I always enjoy reading this author. She highlights social issues in the middle grade field with a good story and an outcome that will hopefully encourage others going through the same issues.
We Dream of Space is the story of dreams, family, and loneliness even when part of a large person family.
This book was part of my 2024 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge
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