By Ashliegh Gehl
Prepare to be transported to 1986 in Erin Entrada Kelly’s middle grade novel We Dream of Space. This delightful 391-page read, published by Greenwillow Books (an imprint of Harper Collins Canada), explores the internal and external journey of the Nelson Thomas siblings – Cash, Fitch and Bird – as they navigate middle school, grapple with family life, and look to the stars for answers.
As a whole, the Nelson Thomas family is a solar system. Its members are planets, spinning at their own speed, and passing at different orbital frequencies.
Fitch and Bird may be twelve-year-old twins, but they’re poles apart. Fitch spends his days in arcades, mastering the fine art of pinball, and struggles to contain his explosive temper (kind of like Venus). Bird is a thinker. She’s curious about the mechanics of everything, creates her own instruction manuals, and dreams of commanding a spaceship. (Sorry, Bird. I mean space shuttle.) And yet, she feels unseen and somewhat isolated, not just from her family but from her friends at school. She’s like Pluto. (Am I a planet? Am I not a planet? What am I?) Cash, the oldest among them, is into basketball and at risk of failing school (again). He’s kind of just floating out there without any sense of purpose, in search of direction, and feeling a little sideways, like Uranus, due to a broken wrist.
The novel’s multi-perspective structure gives Cash, Fitch and Bird their day in the sun by isolating their experiences and putting their worldviews into focus. Despite their differences, they desire the same things. They long for family, friendship, and belonging. They cling to flittering glimpses of hope as they grapple with a sense of self. These easy-to-love characters are relatable, more so during those awkward growing pain moments that are necessary, but uncomfortable to witness.
Entrada Kelly’s crisp, clean writing takes the reader straight into the middle school experience where harsh words are spoken, cliques are formed, and there’s a lesson to be learned around every corner. Sharp dialogue swiftly moves the story along, so much so that 1986 feels as if it’s a character unto itself.
We Dream of Space is more than just a deep dive into the personal and social lives of Cash, Fitch, Bird, and their self-absorbed parents. It takes the reader through January 1986, the month the space shuttle Challenger was scheduled to launch. It was a time when many school children across the United States were learning about the astronauts, their mission, and the significance of Mission Specialist Christa McAuliffe, who was primed to be the first teacher in space.
Through satellite, NASA broadcasted the launch into classrooms so America’s youth could have a front row seat to McAuliffe’s space debut. On January 28, seventy-three seconds after lift-off, Challenger disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean. A moment, for students like Bird, which revealed that pursuing your dreams can be dangerous. This emotional journey is a ride in which readers of all ages will most certainly enjoy. As Bird writes, “The universe is waiting.” So, what are you waiting for?