The Year We fell From Space
by
Amy Sarig King
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Scholastic
Imprint
Arthur A. Levine Books
ISBN
9781338236361
Awards and Honors
Horn Book Fanfare - 2019
Bulletin Blue Ribbons - 2019
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Language: Mild Language
Liberty Johansen is going to change the way we look at the night sky. Most people see the old constellations, the things they've been told to see. But Liberty sees new patterns, pictures, and possibilities. She's an exception.
Some other exceptions: Her dad, who gave her the stars. Who moved out months ago and hasn't talked to her since. Her mom, who's happier since he left, even though everyone thinks she should be sad and lonely. And her sister, who won't go outside their house.
Liberty feels like her whole world is falling from space. Can she map a new life for herself and her family before they spin too far out of reach?
Author’s note with resources.
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Language: Mild Language
Details
Format
Page Count
272
Trim Size
8 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Dewey
F
AR
3.7: points 7
Lexile
580L
Genre
Fiction
Scholastic Reading Counts
12
JLG Release
Feb 2020
Book Genres
Realistic Fiction
Topics
Mental depression. Meteorites. Divorce. Dysfunctional families. Sisters. Fathers and daughters. Mothers and daughters. Bullying. Family life. Parent and child. Astrology. Constellations. Stars.
Standard MARC Records
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Cover Art
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Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Booklist*, Kirkus Reviews*, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, The Horn Book Magazine*, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books*
Praise & Reviews
School Library Journal
The night a meteor falls near the home of 12-year-old Liberty Johansen, her parents announce their separation. As life as she knows it crumbles, she is left to grapple with her own conflicting emotions, which may stem from something deeper, possibly clinical depression. This compelling upper middle grade title offers an honest window into struggles with childhood and adult depression. Her father has been suffering from it for years, and Liberty fears that she may also have it. Her impulses shift from the desire to protect and nurture her younger sister to throwing a toaster out a window in a fit of rage. She finds solace in speaking to the meteor that she collected on the night of its fall from space, and, finally, with a trusted therapist. Bullying, puberty, and the protagonist’s father’s infidelity are also addressed. This title will resonate with middle graders searching for deeper understanding of their own or their family’s experiences with these or similar topics. Recommended for most middle grade collections, especially where realistic drama is in demand. Fans of Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish and Esther Ehrlich’s Nest will devour this one.
Horn Book
Twelve-year-old “amateur creative astronomer” Liberty Johansen, having memo¬rized all the constellations, makes up her own and meticulously maps them. Her love of the cosmos comes from her father—who, at the start of the book, is sepa¬rating from Liberty’s mother, his severe depression (and, we find out later, infidel¬ity) too much strain to bear. Liberty thinks of it as their family’s “free fall from space,” but then something does fall from space—a meteorite, which begins com¬municating with her. The meteorite offers comfort, as Liberty worries about her younger sister Jilly, who doesn’t want to leave the house; her own mental health (“maybe we should have gone with Dad and not stayed with Mom. Because if something happens to my brain, I don’t want her to kick me out too”); and the whole boy-girl thing, having been “excommunicated” from sixth grade for making fun of the pretend recess-time weddings (“It was the Tuesday after my dad moved out. Of course I thought weddings were stupid”). As she navigates her new family structure, Liberty loses her love for the stars and for herself before, cathartically, reconnecting with both. King (Me and Marvin Gardens, rev. 1/17, for middle graders; and her masterful YA oeuvre including Ask the Passengers, rev. 1/13, and, most recently Dig., rev. 3/19) is keenly attuned to her characters’ humanity, from the core family members to Dad’s new girlfriend to the neighbors going through a parallel family breakup. As always, the author’s sensitivity to her characters’ situational challenges is stunningly, compassionately insightful—and her narrative voice and just-this-side-of-realism setting uniquely her own.
Grades 5-7
Upper Elementary & Junior High Plus
For Grades 5-7
A great way to ensure more titles for your middle-grade readers-with 12 additional popular B titles arriving at your door every year.
14 books per Year
$228.20 per Year
Interests
Clean Books,Chapter Books/Novels,Fiction,Reluctant Readers,Transitional Readers,Realistic Fiction
Grades 5-7
Upper Elementary & Junior High Plus
14 books per Year
$228.20 per Year
