August 1, 2023
Can a space-obsessed seventh grader really do a school community service project with the baton-twirling eighth grader she's crushing on? Tatum works hard at both baton twirling and schoolwork, but since her twin brother is a legit genius--Evan's a 14-year-old college student--her parents denigrate or ignore every one of her accomplishments. Maggie, an autistic girl with ADHD who wants to be an astronaut, is stressed by her fighting parents and by her assignment to work with gorgeous, friendly, organized Tatum. Tatum wants to excel at Project Responsibility, a school initiative, in order to prove herself to her parents. Maggie, for her part, is so overwhelmed by Tatum's wonderfulness that every time Tatum approaches her, Maggie actually runs away. If Tatum helps Maggie with her project to win a visit from an astronaut for the school, will that earn her her parents' love? Will their work distract Maggie from her father's demands she choose which parent she prefers? (Hint: He's very clear it should be him.) Maggie and Tatum are two of the few white kids mentioned, and multiple characters have physical or developmental disabilities. This is a joyful (and often painful) quick read, about as subtle as an astronaut in a middle school, that explores a sweet queer romance. Likable protagonists, great friends, and genuinely awful parenting make for a delightful read. (Fiction. 10-13)
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September 15, 2023
Grades 5-8 Maggie Weir is autistic, loves all things space, and has a serious crush on popular eighth-grader Tatum Jones. These two parts of her world collide when she and Tatum become partners for their school's aerospace engineering project. Their partnership gets off to a rocky start, but as the two girls start to work together, they grow closer. Before Maggie is able to work up to telling Tatum how she feels, her dad gets a job opportunity in Houston and asks her to move with him. Now Maggie has to choose between taking a step toward her dream of one day working with NASA or staying at home with her mom and exploring the possibility of more than friendship with Tatum. At the same time, Tatum has her own struggles with parents who don't take her baton-twirling passion seriously and an academic-prodigy brother whose accomplishments always overshadow hers. Told from both Maggie's and Tatum's perspectives, this LGBTQ+ middle-grade book will appeal to readers looking for a story of first love, science, and growing up.
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