by Erin Estrada Kelly
Greenwillow, 2017. 320 pages. Realistic Fiction
In a single day, the lives of four children are woven together in unexpected ways. The shy Virgil Salinas feels out of place in his loud and boisterous family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister Gen is always following her around. When the school bully pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well, it's up to Kaori, Gen, and Valencia to find him. Using luck, smarts, and bravery, a rescue is performed and friendship blooms.
Kelly's diverse characters surpass tokenism; their varying ethnic backgrounds (and Valencia’s disability) affect the characters’ lives without defining them. They are not diverse for diversity’s sake; their life experiences color their perceptions, as occurs in reality.
In her Newbery acceptance speech for Hello, Universe, Kelly said, “[T]he truth is, I write books for my characters…. Because I was – and still am – all of them.” She continues, “You have given me a tremendous honor tonight. And it’s my hope that you will remember, each day, how you honor the dreams of underdogs everywhere.” Kelly’s authenticity is born of lived experience, and she conveys it in a format that is easily digestible by tween readers.