TETHERED TO OTHER STARS

Latine seventh grader Wendy Celestina Toledo loves outer space, but she’s worried about things happening right here on Earth.

After a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on her community leads to disappearances of several people she knows, including her best friend, Wendy and her Salvadoran-Guatemalan family move to a new neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Aspiring astronomer Wendy enters a school for gifted and talented students, makes a diverse group of new friends, and sets her sights on building a telescope and winning the science fair. However, with ICE vans patrolling the streets and a woman named Luz claiming sanctuary in the church down the street, her parents are fearful. Not only are Wendy and her friends enduring racist bullying at school, but someone Wendy loves is seriously threatened, and she must tap into her own inner resources to do what’s right for herself and those she cares for. The stakes start out high but manage to continue to build throughout the story, culminating in an unexpected plot twist. Heavy topics like bullying, familial hardship, and academic pressures are explored in ways middle-grade readers will understand and are grounded in well-rounded characterization. Readers will resonate with the characters’ three-dimensional personalities regardless of their and their families’ own immigration experiences.

A beautifully executed, character-driven tale of family, courage, resilience, and the meaning of what is right.