My thoughts: We Dream of Space won't satisfy every reader. (Not all friends are *good* or *good-for-you* friends. It touches on issues of family dysfunction (in particular spousal verbal abuse, and perhaps a bit of neglect), bullying, self-esteem, body image, and friendship. And she daydreams conversations with one of the astronauts, Judith Resnik. Bird, in particular, is thrilled with this focus. She is a science teacher, I believe, who is dedicating the whole month of January to space and space exploration. Salonga-though not all at the same time period. The book deals with their lives at home and at school. The Nelson-Thomas home is not comfortable, cozy, safe. Another thing all three have in common is their parents who always, always, always, always seems to be arguing, fighting, fussing, bickering, spatting, raging. They seem unaware that their siblings are also struggling and just barely coping. The three siblings have so much in common-so so much-but they also share this a feeling of isolation and alone-ness. Cash, well, Cash also struggles with finding his place to belong, finding something he is good at he struggles with worthlessness. Bird is a big, big dreamer but is haunted by insecurity and anxiety. Fitch is struggling with anger issues and feelings of shame. The book is told from the perspective of all three siblings. Premise/plot: We Dream of Space is a middle grade coming of age novel set in January 1986 starring three siblings: Fitch, Bird, and Cash.
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