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Book Summary and Reviews of Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

Hello, Universe

by Erin Entrada Kelly

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  • Mar 2017, 320 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Acclaimed and award-winning author Erin Entrada Kelly's Hello, Universe is a funny and poignant neighborhood story about unexpected friendships.

Told from four intertwining points of view—two boys and two girls—the novel celebrates bravery, being different, and finding your inner bayani (hero).

In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so he can concentrate on basketball.

They aren't friends, at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find missing Virgil. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms.

The acclaimed author of Blackbird Fly and The Land of Forgotten Girls writes with an authentic, humorous, and irresistible tween voice that will appeal to fans of Thanhha Lai and Rita Williams-Garcia.

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Book Awards

  • award image John Newbery Medal, 2018

Reviews

Media Reviews

"A charming, intriguingly plotted novel." - Washington Post

"Readers will be instantly engrossed in this relatable neighborhood adventure and its eclectic cast of misfits." - Booklist

"Readers across the board will flock to this book that has something for nearly everyone—humor, bullying, self-acceptance, cross-generational relationships, and a smartly fateful ending." - School Library Journal

This information about Hello, Universe was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Evie

SO AWESOMEEE!!
This book was so easy to read as the sentences flowed beautifully. I chose this book for a school project and I'm so glad I did.

Addie

Hello Universe
This book is a moving tale of fate and friendship, and it shows a lesson through different perspectives while bringing together four unexpected friends. I recommend it for all ages.

Emily

I don't really know this
This is a very fun and awesome book to read as well as a very good book and yes I do suggest this book to people that love reading to kids or other people of course and the author of this I just wanna say you did a good job with the book much love from a kid from Bonjam Elementary in Midland,Texas -Emily

Julie Thomas

Seriously?
I read this book to a group of Fourth Graders per teacher request while substituting. The insults of kid being “retardo”, fat woman checking out of store, and kid mentioning “making out” was in my opinion offensive in the book. Is it necessary to create a book that speaks so poorly of other individuals? Did not like the book and would not recommend it for 4th or 5th graders.

Ethan

Developed characters, but undeveloped plot
It had great character development, but it's plot wasn't necessarily above average, and didn't fully develop.

Floof

It's my opinion, deal with it.
I personally dislike this book, though you might enjoy it. The plot doesn't have much of a climax, and even though i'm a young reader, I don't like the format and characteristics of the main characters. They don't have much of a problem to solve. And they don't really have that much of a plot. The only decent part is when Virgil falls into the well, and when Chet gets bitten by the snake. Virgil is a decent character, but Chet is a typical bully and Gen is the basic anoying and sometimes helpful sibling. I hope you understand why I rated this book the way I did.

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Author Information

Erin Entrada Kelly

Erin Entrada Kelly grew up in south Louisiana and now lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Erin's mother was the first in her family to immigrate to the United States from the Philippines.

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