THE GALAXY ACCORDING TO CECE

In Roberts’ middle-grade novel, a girl is uprooted from her North Carolina home to a small Midwestern town where she deals with a new middle school, new bullies—and a possibly haunted observatory.

Nine-year-old Cecilia “CeCe” Laurance’s excitement for her first day of sixth grade is interrupted by the news that her dad has just been hired for a new job at an observatory—and it’s not located in their home state. Instead of taking classes with her friends, being part of the soccer team, and trying out for “upper band,” CeCe is reluctantly moving to Forest Town, Missouri, a place so small that it doesn’t even have a movie theater. She learns upon arrival that the family is going to live in an old house connected to the observatory that’s rumored to have ghosts. When she meets some friendly soccer-playing kids who go to her new school—Analise, Gia, and Jaxon—she thinks maybe the move won’t be so bad. Soon, however, soccer goalie and resident mean girl Mercedes deals a blow to CeCe’s self-confidence, shoving her during soccer practice and spreading rumors about her house. Unwilling to be cowed, CeCe wonders where the idea of her house having a ghost came from; after she experiences strange chills and hears mysterious voices, she suspects there might be some truth to it. Roberts effectively captures the thought processes of a tween navigating the stressors of moving, making friends, and acclimating to a new school. CeCe is a well-rounded protagonist with a variety of interests that Roberts ably balances as the story goes on; her girls’ soccer league dreams comfortably sit beside her love of science, which she shares with her astronomer father. The rest of the cast members aren’t sketched out in such detail, but they still serve their narrative purposes well. The potential haunting makes for an intriguing mystery, although its resolution isn’t as intriguing as its setup. Overall, CeCe’s journey is one that many kids will find relatable, and it’s sure to grab and keep their attention.

Young readers will enjoy this engaging mystery with a complex protagonist.