
Reach for this book when your child feels like they are looking at the world through a window that no one else can see through, or when you want to foster deep empathy for neurodivergent peers. Nova is a nonverbal, autistic girl living in the foster care system in 1986, waiting for the Challenger shuttle launch and the return of her big sister, Bridget. While the world sees Nova as low functioning, the reader is invited into her brilliant, astronomical internal world. This story explores themes of grief, the unbreakable bond of sisterhood, and the frustration of being underestimated. It is a profoundly moving look at how we communicate love and intelligence beyond traditional speech. Because it deals with the Challenger tragedy and the realities of the foster system, it is best suited for mature middle-grade readers who are ready for a story that is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful. Parents will appreciate the way it humanizes disability and validates the emotional lives of children who process the world differently.
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Sign in to write a reviewIncludes the historical Challenger explosion and the revealed death of a family member.
Nova occasionally wanders or finds herself in stressful social situations.
The book deals directly with the Challenger explosion, foster care instability, and the death of a loved one. The approach is realistic and historical. The resolution is bittersweet: while Nova finds a supportive environment, the loss is permanent and the ending is more about acceptance than a traditional happy ending.
A thoughtful 10 to 12 year old who gravitates toward space or history, particularly a child who has experienced being underestimated or one who is curious about how others think and feel.
Parents should be aware of the Challenger tragedy's depiction. If a child is sensitive to historical disasters or the death of siblings, read the final third of the book first to prepare for the emotional weight. A parent might see their child struggling to make friends, being bullied for being different, or perhaps the parent has noticed the child is intensely grieving a change in family structure.
Younger readers will focus on the quest to find Bridget and the cool space facts. Older readers will grasp the systemic failures of 1980s special education and the profound tragedy of the ending.
Unlike many books about autism which use a sibling's perspective, this is told from the internal perspective of the autistic child themselves, giving her full agency and a rich, poetic inner life.
Set in 1986, the story follows Nova, a nonverbal autistic girl in foster care. Her sister, Bridget, her primary protector and translator, has disappeared after they were separated in the system. Nova counts down the days to the Challenger launch, fueled by Bridget's promise that they would watch it together. As the launch nears, Nova must navigate a new foster home and a school system that fails to see her true intelligence.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.