Growing up as a teenager can feel new, awkward, and difficult. Virgil is a shy boy who struggles to say what’s on his mind. Through a series of events, he begins to gain courage to do anything. Adding on, “Hello, Universe” also displays how a few students/children (4) come together and create a friendship unexpectedly. Another aspect I enjoyed in this book is the diversity of characters! There is Kaori, who is Japanese American, and Valencia, who is deaf. Something I don’t like in the book is the plot is predictable. Overall, I enjoyed reading each character’s thoughts and seeing how all of them came together. I think that tweens-teenagers would enjoy “Hello, Universe” as most of the characters are between this age range.

I can certainly understand why this won a Newbery Medal...the characters are so well-done. They are each unique but brought together in a natural way. Switching between four first-person perspectives has the potential to confuse the reader but Kelly makes it seamless. I think she mastered the voices of each of the characters and does a fantastic job of portraying their struggles.

Hello, Universe is an adventurous tale with themes of friendship and fate so prominent that it almost feels like a juvenile-appropriate "romance." The story is not "cheesy" or "mushy" at all, but with characters clearly drawn to one another, including feeling "butterflies in their stomach," the allusion of romance is apparent. Despite those undertones, there is plenty of excitement to keep non-romance readers interested, including snake-bitten bullies and a near-tragedy so insurmountable that the character's friends must save him. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in realistic juvenile fiction with a romantic twist, but I would also recommend it to fans of realistic fiction in general.

Reviewed by Miss Allison

I haven't been able to figure out why books receive the Newbery. This was okay, kind of quiet, interesting how it was told from four points of view, but best for 2018? Hmm.

This was an awesome book. Read it with my son (10) and we both enjoyed it very much.

Level Y

BL 4.7

Fans of quirky characters and the idea of fate will enjoy this read. The book is charming with a positive message about self-esteem and the meaning of friends.

Perfectly simple and spot-on in every way: the accidental/natural diversity of the characters; the pure and straightforward plot that was more about these children than what happens next; the great humor; the wisdom about aloneness, friendship, and connectedness; the accurate depiction of everyday middle-school-ness; the deftly deployed magical realism. Plus -- there was a guinea pig. Loved it; didn't want it to end.

Valencia, the character with hearing loss was wonderfully developed. I think that kids with hearing loss will relate to the ways that Valencia feels isolated and lonely. I also think that kids with hearing loss can find hope for friendship and understanding in the ways we see Valencia develop throughout the story. Below is one of Valencia's tellings that was particularly poignant and that I found completely relatable to my childhood hearing loss struggles:

'I wish I was prepared for when Roberta and I stopped being friends.

You know how sometimes you're friends with someone and they start hanging out with other people and eventually you're not friends anymore, but you can't remember when it all happened? Well, that's not the way it was with Roberta. I know the exact date: October twelfth, fourth grade. Roberta and the other girls were playing chase and I was doing my best to play, too. But after the game was over, she walked up to me and said, "We don't want you to play with us anymore."

"Why?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
"The how-tos are too hard," she said. "And you're too slow."

The how-tos were what we called the three ways to talk so I could understand: face me, don't cover your mouth, and speak clearly.

When she said I was too slow, I knew what she meant, too.
When we raced, I could never tell exactly when Megan Lewis called out, "Ready, set, go!" I could see she was getting ready to call it out, but I was never totally sure she had said all three words. When we played musical chairs, I couldn't tell when the music stopped. With hide-and-seek, I never knew when ready-or-not-here-I-come happened. I always figured it out, but I was usually two or three steps behind everyone else. It slowed down the game. I knew that. I guess I just didn't know that everyone else knew it, too. I thought I'd fooled them. But Roberta set me straight.' pp 143-144