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melodys_library's review
4.0
When I was a kid, I longed for a book that had characters like me, faces like mine. Twenty years later, I finally found it!
Hello, Universe has a diverse cast of characters: Filipino-American, Japanese American, deaf. Kids who read this book learn that it’s ok to feel your feelings, it’s ok to cry, it’s ok to speak your truth; it’s not ok to treat people like they are less than you because they are different from you. Love everything about this book, and the ending is just perfect.
Hello, Universe has a diverse cast of characters: Filipino-American, Japanese American, deaf. Kids who read this book learn that it’s ok to feel your feelings, it’s ok to cry, it’s ok to speak your truth; it’s not ok to treat people like they are less than you because they are different from you. Love everything about this book, and the ending is just perfect.
art1610's review
4.0
I loved the read.
Virgil was a scrawny, adorable, insecure kid.
Kaori was a psychic who read about gems, and knew a lot of random things, but I'm pretty sure she's a fraud even if she really believes in the signs and fate.
Gen, Kaori's sister, goes from hobby to hobby, but she never stops following her older sister.
Valencia is a girl who struggles, but has a strong personality.
Chet...is an ignorant 6th soon to be 7th grader.
All the connections were brilliant. I love it when events connect with little details to create a complex web. This book displayed that perfectly along with humor and starts of friendship.
I definitely recommend it!
Virgil was a scrawny, adorable, insecure kid.
Kaori was a psychic who read about gems, and knew a lot of random things, but I'm pretty sure she's a fraud even if she really believes in the signs and fate.
Gen, Kaori's sister, goes from hobby to hobby, but she never stops following her older sister.
Valencia is a girl who struggles, but has a strong personality.
Chet...is an ignorant 6th soon to be 7th grader.
All the connections were brilliant. I love it when events connect with little details to create a complex web. This book displayed that perfectly along with humor and starts of friendship.
I definitely recommend it!
adam75241's review
5.0
Erin Entrada Kelly did it again, and “Hello, Universe” sure packs a lot of gravity.
With a tremendously diverse cast of characters and Kelly’s incredible gift of tackling issues like bullying, self-acceptance, and family with poise and humor, readers of all ages will once again fall in love with the underdog(s).
There’s Virgil, an eleven-year-old Filipino-American who is both introverted and introspective; Valencia, a hearing-impaired shrug-the-shoulders-type of gal, Kaori, an adolescent fortune-telling go-getter; Gen, Kaori’s jump-roping tag-along sister; and Chet, the know-it-all bully that seems to be just about everywhere. There’s also Virgil’s adorable guinea pig Gulliver, a dog who lives in the woods, and sharp-toothed snake.
“Hello, Universe” is a call to the cosmos for children (and adults) who have ever felt like they haven’t yet found their place in the world, and allows for us to question the possibility that our place in world might be where we already are.
With a tremendously diverse cast of characters and Kelly’s incredible gift of tackling issues like bullying, self-acceptance, and family with poise and humor, readers of all ages will once again fall in love with the underdog(s).
There’s Virgil, an eleven-year-old Filipino-American who is both introverted and introspective; Valencia, a hearing-impaired shrug-the-shoulders-type of gal, Kaori, an adolescent fortune-telling go-getter; Gen, Kaori’s jump-roping tag-along sister; and Chet, the know-it-all bully that seems to be just about everywhere. There’s also Virgil’s adorable guinea pig Gulliver, a dog who lives in the woods, and sharp-toothed snake.
“Hello, Universe” is a call to the cosmos for children (and adults) who have ever felt like they haven’t yet found their place in the world, and allows for us to question the possibility that our place in world might be where we already are.
doroark76's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dakuten's review
2.5
I really liked this up until the end. You would almost think I accidentally dropped the ending of the book on the way to my chair because the story is a bunch of set up with no pay off.
Coming from the author’s /Blackbird Fly/ and even /The Land of Forgotten Girls/ I was shocked at how little occurred in this story. And no, the themes of this story do not make up for it.
Even little 4th grade me was shocked that this story won a Newberry Medal. I would urge anyone reading this review , however, to not give up on Kelly though because the books I mentioned before made me forgive her for this book because they were so good.
Coming from the author’s /Blackbird Fly/ and even /The Land of Forgotten Girls/ I was shocked at how little occurred in this story. And no, the themes of this story do not make up for it.
Even little 4th grade me was shocked that this story won a Newberry Medal. I would urge anyone reading this review , however, to not give up on Kelly though because the books I mentioned before made me forgive her for this book because they were so good.
adammuly's review
3.0
This book was sort of a let down. I honestly can’t believe it won the Newberry Medal. It definitely doesn’t match the quality usually associated with the award.
The book had good potential, but it turned out to be a mediocre neighborhood story. It encourages disrespect toward parents. I thought with the inclusion of a deaf character, that would be a very unique and noble addition to the story, but it seemed like the author handled the situation poorly. The entire plot ended rather anticlimactically.
Fairly unimpressed. I would have given it a 2.5 if possible.
The book had good potential, but it turned out to be a mediocre neighborhood story. It encourages disrespect toward parents. I thought with the inclusion of a deaf character, that would be a very unique and noble addition to the story, but it seemed like the author handled the situation poorly. The entire plot ended rather anticlimactically.
Fairly unimpressed. I would have given it a 2.5 if possible.
ravenph's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is such a sweet story for adults to understand children and for children a little bit older than the characters to relate to.