The Year We Fell From Space

The Year We Fell From Space
Amy Sarig King
Scholastic, October, 2019 262 pages
Grades 4-7
Realistic Fiction

Sixth grade Liberty, feels as if she fell from space, just like the meteor that fell from the sky, breaking windows in her home as it crashed. Dad has left the family for reasons not fully disclosed to her and nothing is the same. Both younger sister Jilly and Liberty miss him so much and as he keeps canceling schedule visits, they feel very confused and hurt. To make matters worse, Liberty is ostracized from the sixth grade when she refuses to have a boyfriend or be bossed around by her boy-crazy friend. When the friend loses her mother's diamond ring at a pretend wedding and Liberty picks it up, she makes a poor decision. Back home the meteor starts talking to her and navigates Liberty through the feelings she is experiencing about both her changing family and lack of friends. Seventh grade brings on the start of middle school and more transitions. Relations with Dad resume, only not in the way Liberty plans. The truth behind Dad's leaving is revealed and everyone is hurt, yet now can start to travel down the road to healing.

Critically acclaimed teen author, A.S. King, writes her sophomore novel for middle grade under the name Amy Sarig King. Still keeping her quirky plot touches (in this case a talking meteor), her middle grade is a bit less stream of consciousness and more tangible than her teen books. In this case, the title indicates the moment her dad left the family and the year that they attempt to reconstruct their family. Readers will recognize early on that the meteor isn't really talking: it is Liberty's subconscious revealing truths that she is not always ready to handle. As she mentally begins to cope with her new family dynamic, the meteor stops talking and goes back to being a meteor. Liberty is not the only fully developed character in this book. All of the characters are interesting, experience growth and contain many shades of grey. Adults are supportive, yet flawed, and even our protagonist makes bad choices, yet owns and fixes them by the end of the book. Chapters are short, helping the book to read quickly, with much of the action written in dialog. They are separated by beautiful black papers with stars, making for an unusual design. Liberty is interested in outer space and this will help draw-in scientific kids, who may not naturally gravitate towards fiction. Readers will learn truths such as that romance is not necessary for sixth graders and it’s okay for boys and girls to be friends, divorce effects the whole family, and everyone makes mistakes. Beyond this, sometimes, no matter how hard we want something, it doesn't always come out the way we hoped, but the new normal can be okay after all.