Book Review: Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

Hello, Universe

Author: Erin Entrada Kelly

Pages: 320

ISBN: 0062414151

Recommended for ages 8-15

2018 Newberry Medal winner. It’s a story told from the perspective of 4 middle school kids, two girls and two boys.  A self proclaimed psychic, a school bully, a deaf girl and a shy kid with his guinea pig. 

Virgil, a painfully shy boy, wants to befriend the deaf girl in his resource class but just doesn't know how. He talks with his friend Kaori (a psychic) about Valencia and he is told that they are destined to become friends. Valenica finds a flyer for Koari's psychic services and makes an appointment the same day as Virigil. On the way to Kaori's, Virgil encounters "The Bull", a bully that tortures him at school. After his encounter with the Bull, Virgil's backpack with his pet guinea pig ends up at the bottom of an abandoned well and Virgil becomes trapped after trying to retrieve it. 

Is it a coincidence that Virgil and the Bull end up in the woods at the same time on the same day? Is it a coincidence that the very same girl that Virgil wants to befriend makes an appointment with Kaori the same day he goes missing? Is it a coincidence that the stones Kaori needs to find Virgil are in the same woods as the abandoned well? According to Kaori there are no coincidences when it comes to the universe and destiny. 

I cannot stop recommending this book to the kids I work with! I love that every one of the characters are different in their own unique way. I think that Erin Kelly does a great job of bringing light to the serious issues of the book without being overbearing and losing the interest of the kids. 

Book Review: The Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

The Wishtree 

Author: Katherine Applegate

Pages: 224

ISBN: 1250043220

Recommended for ages: 8-14

After reading The One and Only Ivan, I was so excited for the release of Katherine Applegate's new book The Wishtree. I was once again swept up in the simple but powerful writing of Katherine Applegate.

Applegate gives a voice to a neighborhood Red Oak, aptly named Red, and Red is a Wishtree. Red reminds me of Ivan. An outsider observing the confusing nature of humans. Red has lived a long life in the neighborhood and has seen many families come and go. Watching humans for so many years has left Red with a love and compassion for humans. Every year on the first of May people from the neighborhood adorn Red with scraps of paper, cloth and even old socks. These represent their hopes and dreams, giving Red the name the Wishtree.

After a Muslim family moves in across the street, Red becomes the center of intolerance and hate when someone carves the word LEAVE into Red's trunk. The young Muslim girl, Samara, used her wish on the first of May to wish for a friend. Red uses the animals that live in the tree to help Samara find a friend in the boy who lives next door to her.

While Red is helping Samara, the homeowner where Red lives, is considering cutting Red down. The owner is tried of people always leaving "stuff" in the tree for her to clean up and now the "graffiti" someone left on Red is the last straw. The only thing that could possibly save Red, is a story from her/his past about another immigrant girl who was also looking for a place to belong.