How to Become a Planet
-
-
4.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $6.99
Publisher Description
With the help of new friends and a planetarium hotline, thirteen-year-old Pluto goes on a journey of self-discovery, in this poignant story about mental health from acclaimed middle grade author Nicole Melleby.
A Publishers Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of 2021
One of The Nerd Daily's “Anticipated Queer Book Releases You Can’t Miss in 2021”
One of Lambda Literary's “May’s Most Anticipated LGBTQ Literature”
“Gorgeous.” —BuzzFeed
The two most important things to know about Pluto Timoney: (1) she’s always loved outer space (obviously); and (2) her favorite season is summer, the time to go to the boardwalk, visit the planetarium, and work in her mom’s pizzeria.
This summer, when Pluto’s turning thirteen, is different. Pluto has just been diagnosed with depression, and she feels like a black hole is sitting on her chest, making it hard to do anything. When Pluto’s dad threatens to make her move to the city—where he believes his money could help her get better—Pluto comes up with a plan to do whatever it takes to be her old self again. If she does everything that old, “normal” Pluto would do, she can stay with her mom. But it takes a new therapist, new tutor, and new (cute) friend with a plan of her own for Pluto to see that there is no old or new her. There’s just Pluto, discovering more about herself every day.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A month before seventh grade's end, Pluto Jean Timoney is gripped with a desire to "just stop"; after her terrified mother breaks down her locked bedroom door, the 12-year-old is diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Uninterested in her traditional summer activities, such as hanging out on the Jersey Shore boardwalk with her erstwhile best friend Meredith, space-loving Pluto, who is white, creates a list of tasks that she believes will return her to "the real, full Pluto" who she was before the diagnosis. In her mind, accomplishing the list also means that she won't have to live with her father in New York City, who thinks he can get her better care. Under her mother's concerned watch at the family pizzeria, Pluto begins a tentative journey navigating her mental health while embarking on a friendship with gender-questioning Fallon. Sprinkled with astronomy-related metaphors related to a planet's properties, this acutely observed, authentically told tale by Melleby (In the Role of Brie Hutchens...) thoughtfully portrays Pluto's relationship with her worried single mother, the girl's urgent desire to "be fixed," and her intense—and at times overpowering—depressive episodes. Compassionate secondary characters and a strong sense of place further buoy the narrative. Ages 9–12.
