Donna Barba Higuera
Levine Querido/Chronicle, 2021
314 pages
Grades 5-8
Science Fiction
Petra must say goodbye to all she loves, including her beloved storytelling Abuelita, as she boards a spaceship to settle a new planet in the not-so-distant future. A comet is set to destroy Earth and a few lucky and talented individuals have been chosen to colonize the nearest planet habitable by humans. Since her parents are scientists, Petra is one of the lucky few and she and her younger brother are put to sleep for hundreds of years while her brain is infused with scientific information and they are "babysat" by reproducing humans. During the journey the humans left to care for the sleeping colonists have evolved and now harbor their own agenda. Many of the sleeping colonizers have been reprogramed for the new regime and can no longer remember Earth. A glitch in the system leaves Petra with her memories, as well as the stories of her Abuelita. She wakes up to a very different reality than the one from which she came. The new planet is reached and Petra must now decide how best to proceed and who to trust.
This is the winner of the 2022 Newbery medal and the it is very well deserving. The only reason I didn't read this title before now is that it looked a bit long and dark. The story is less quiet than the cover implies and it is at it's core an adventurous science fiction tale with ethical undertones. The plot is fresh and reminds me a bit of the trending movie Don't Look Up, where the planet Earth is about to be destroyed, though in this book the real action takes place after the destruction of the Earth. The book starts with a bang, as Petra and her family board the ship, and becomes even more so once Petra wakes up and the world as she knew it went off the rails as she slept for hundreds of years. Readers will wonder what they would do in similar circumstances as Petra tries to make sense of her reality, as the only person who remembers Earth and the original mission of the trip. Surprises abound and I was on the edge of my seat as she tries to determine the best course of action to not be trapped as a slave in a soulless society. Throughout the book tales from Petra's childhood are woven, offering another layer. A well written, readable tale that will be enjoyed by upper elementary thinkers.
No comments:
Post a Comment