Hello Universe

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Winner of the Newbery Medal! Acclaimed author Erin Entrada Kelly’s award-winning and bestselling novel for middle grade readers is a funny and poignant neighborhood story about unexpected friendships. Told from four intertwining points of view—two boys and two girls—the novel celebrates bravery, being different, and finding your inner bayani (hero). The Washington Post called it, “A charming, intriguingly plotted novel.” A New York Times bestseller!

In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different, so he can concentrate on basketball.

They aren’t friends, at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find the missing Virgil. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms.

Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly writes with an authentic, humorous, and irresistible tween voice that will appeal to fans of Rebecca Stead and Rita Williams-Garcia. In a starred review, Booklist said, “Readers will be instantly engrossed in this relatable neighborhood adventure and its eclectic cast of misfits.” Includes bonus content.

Erin Entrada Kelly is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning novels Hello, Universe and The First State of Being, which was also named a finalist for the National Book Award. She received a Newbery Honor for her acclaimed novel We Dream of Space. Erin Entrada Kelly grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and now lives in Delaware. She teaches in the MFA in writing for children and young adults program at Hamline University. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Philippines Free Press Literary Award for Short Fiction and the Pushcart Prize. Before becoming a children’s author, Erin worked as a journalist and magazine editor and received numerous awards for community service journalism, feature writing, and editing from the Louisiana Press Association and the Associated Press.

Erin Entrada Kelly’s debut novel, Blackbird Fly, was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, an ALSC Notable Book, and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor Book. She is also the author of The Land of Forgotten Girls, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature; You Go First, an Indie Next Pick; Lalani of the Distant Sea, an Indie Next Pick; Those Kids from Fawn Creek, named to numerous best-of-the-year lists; and five popular novels for younger readers, Maybe Maybe Marisol RaineySurely Surely Marisol RaineyOnly Only Marisol RaineyYour Turn Marisol Rainey, and Felix Powell, Boy Dog, which she also illustrated.

★ “Kelly’s inventive story...is told from several supremely well-crafted perspectives. …The short chapters, compelling characters, and age-appropriate suspense will hook young readers immediately. …An original and resonant exploration of interconnectedness and friendship.” -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ “Four middle-schoolers’ fates intertwine one summer in Kelly’s touching tale of friendship. . . . Chapters alternate between the four kids’ perspectives, infusing the story with their unique interests, backgrounds, beliefs, and doubts. …Readers will be instantly engrossed in this relatable neighborhood adventure and its eclectic cast.” -Booklist (starred review)
★ “Plucky protagonists and a deftly woven story will appeal to anyone who has ever felt a bit lost in the universe. Readers across the board will flock to this book that has something for nearly everyone—humor, bullying, self-acceptance, cross-generational relationships, and a smartly fateful ending.” -School Library Journal (starred review)
★ “Kelly offers up a charming novel about a serendipitous friendship that forms among a trio of sixth graders after a bully’s heartless act brings them together. ...Infused with humor and hope, this book deftly conveys messages of resilience and self-acceptance through simple acts of everyday courage.” -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

ISBN: 9780062414168

352 pages 7.6 in H | 5.1 in W | 1 in T | 0.7 lb Wt



 

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