Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I finished Erin Entrada Kelly’s We Dream of Space recently, and seeing the historical fiction symbol on the spine when I remember witnessing the historical event the book was centered around was–trippy. (And not really in a good way.) Still, I suppose 1986 really was rather a while ago, and my memories of the “Challenger” explosion are vague. I remember being in my elementary school cafeteria with the rest of the school; I remember that we were watching it live. I remember that feeling of something bad happening. That’s about the extent of it.

I was 6 1/2.

In Entrada Kelly’s Newbery Honor-winning novel, Bird Thomas and her science teacher both are eagerly anticipating the “Challenger” launch. Bird’s brothers–her angry twin, Fitch, and her older brother Cash, who failed 7th grade and is now in the same class as both of his siblings–don’t care much one way or another, and for her parents, it’s just something else for them to argue about. (They argue a lot–loudly. Using language and names that they expect their own children never to say.) Bird is quiet, but is nevertheless the most positive person of her entire household; she tries to effect small changes for good in whatever ways she can find. When tragedy strikes, however, and Bird is leveled by it, her brothers find themselves groping towards a kind of sibling caring and protectiveness that seemed lost to them.

Okay, as summaries go, that wasn’t bad. How I felt about the book, though–I’m not sure I have any idea how to express that. There was, of course, the dread–anticipating takes up a great deal of mental and emotional energy for me, and when you spend a good 3/4 of the book knowing that poor Bird is going to be devastated by what happens to the Challenger–not to mention being horrified on behalf of the astronauts themselves–it’s wearing. It’s also painful for me as a parent to witness such bad parenting; even Elsa’s parents in “Frozen” seem to WANT to do the right thing (however abysmal they turn out to be at it). Bird’s parents are absorbed with themselves, their grievances (petty and otherwise), and–what else? Not their children, not quite appearances, not quite…I don’t know.

I was really, really angry with the parents.

Here’s the thing. I’m not sure I enjoyed reading We Dream of Space, and I’m not quite sure who I’d recommend it to. I think kids with disconnected families or parents who make home life unpleasant in garden variety ways might relate, but how does one go about recommending to that specific group? So much of the book made me hurt for the people in it, fictional and otherwise. On the other hand, despite rather a loose plot, it engaged me; I was driven to keep on with it. It’s written VERY well, and I think it’s actually an impressive story. It’s just–kind of sad. Honestly, I really want to know what its intended audience thinks of it.

Anyone?