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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
"Relatively few people watched the launch live that day. Most adults were at work, social media didn't exist, and cable news was a novelty. There was one unfortunate exception, however: American schoolchildren. NASA arranged satellite broadcasts onto TV sets in many U.S. schools so students could watch Christa McAuliffe become the first teacher in space."
I so clearly remember watching the Challenger launch live in my classroom as a 6th grade student - the anticipation and excitement, the confusion and disbelief, and being frozen in shock as our teachers began to cry. What an unforgettable tragedy.
"I touch the future." Christa McAullife
I so clearly remember watching the Challenger launch live in my classroom as a 6th grade student - the anticipation and excitement, the confusion and disbelief, and being frozen in shock as our teachers began to cry. What an unforgettable tragedy.
"I touch the future." Christa McAullife
A story about middle school aged siblings in the 1980's during the time of the Challenger explosion. Complicated family and friend dynamics. Heartwarming ending.
I was this exact age in 1986 - 7th grade. I remember watching the Challenger at school. As an adult listening to this, I kept waiting and waiting, knowing what was coming. This book handled what happened beautifully. I loved the multiple stories being told of each child, their family, and the Challenger. Really a wonderful story about a tragic event.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
My verdict: I loved it. So much. This is a good middle grade book for adults.
Great book for the following topics: family dynamics, dealing with dashed hopes, accountability
REVIEW:
I did not expect this book to be so heavy. I dove into it thinking it would be about kids being kids (which it is) and it would be light-hearted fun (it's not light at all).
I was in the mind set of this is a middle grade book for kids before I started this but now I'm not so sure I want kids to read it... but then again I feel like there will be a lot of themes this book has that will mean differently if read by an adult. Something like I would read differently if read as a child and reread as an adult. But I'm not a child so I can't really say for sure. But, as an adult, I can say this - this book brought out so many emotions and family dynamics analysis. For kids, this is probably best read in tandem with an adult.
Part of the shock factor that I experienced while reading this is that I have absolutely zero idea what happened to the Challenger. I have grown to like the kids in the story that when the pivotal moment happened, I felt a crushing feeling on my chest. Knowing that, even though this work is fiction, those people referred to were real. In that moment, I felt that I too was there in the auditorium with Ms. Salonga and Bird.
There were (minor) loose ends to this story but I don't mind because ultimately it's not about them. The focus is on the siblings and their family dynamics and I'm satisfied with where it went and how it ended.
I really love how the siblings themselves worked things out between each other. They started the healing process and mending their family between each other but didn't rush into fixing their parents. They each worked on themselves before working on the unit as a whole, slowly but surely. It's not a happily ever after conclusion but it's definitely more grounded and more realistic which was really satisfying.
This was beautifully written. Only my second Erin Entrada Kelly and I'm looking forward to more.
Great book for the following topics: family dynamics, dealing with dashed hopes, accountability
REVIEW:
I did not expect this book to be so heavy. I dove into it thinking it would be about kids being kids (which it is) and it would be light-hearted fun (it's not light at all).
I was in the mind set of this is a middle grade book for kids before I started this but now I'm not so sure I want kids to read it... but then again I feel like there will be a lot of themes this book has that will mean differently if read by an adult. Something like I would read differently if read as a child and reread as an adult. But I'm not a child so I can't really say for sure. But, as an adult, I can say this - this book brought out so many emotions and family dynamics analysis. For kids, this is probably best read in tandem with an adult.
Part of the shock factor that I experienced while reading this is that I have absolutely zero idea what happened to the Challenger. I have grown to like the kids in the story that when the pivotal moment happened, I felt a crushing feeling on my chest. Knowing that, even though this work is fiction, those people referred to were real. In that moment, I felt that I too was there in the auditorium with Ms. Salonga and Bird.
There were (minor) loose ends to this story but I don't mind because ultimately it's not about them. The focus is on the siblings and their family dynamics and I'm satisfied with where it went and how it ended.
This was beautifully written. Only my second Erin Entrada Kelly and I'm looking forward to more.
While I enjoyed Erin Entrada Kelly’s writing style, I found this middle-grade book to be overwhelmingly sad and depressing. The toxic and dysfunctional family, coupled with the Challenger explosion was a lot for my adult brain and heart to handle. While I know all children’s books don’t need to have a happy ending, I wish the message of holding onto hopes and dreams was a bit stronger.
100% purchased because I was told Kelly writes like Rebecca Stead, which, huge if true. does she? no, she writes like Erin Entrada Kelly, which means that unlike Stead it’s very difficult to forget you’re reading a book meant to impart moral lessons to children but it would be a total out of pocket lie to say I didn’t tear up at the ending. This book is so sweet like unconscionably mindblowingly sweet and I think it’s really good at putting into words all the feelings I had and couldn’t name when I was twelve. Obviously I’m not twelve anymore so I didn’t get the max out of it but maybe some kids absolutely could?
Als ich zum ersten Mal den Klappentext von „Die Nelsons greifen nach den Sternen“ las, war ich Feuer und Flamme. Die Geschichte dieser Kinder interessierte mich total, und das alles noch im Kontext mit dem Start der Challenger und allgemein dem Weltraum fesselte mich schon bei dem Gedanken daran. Als ich dann schließlich das Buch in den Händen hielt, wollte ich direkt starten, aber die Ernüchterung überkam mich recht schnell.
Das Buch ist aus der Sicht der drei Kids geschrieben, was ich zwar gut fand, mir aber dennoch nicht dabei geholfen hat, mich in sie hineinzuversetzen. Es dauerte recht lang, bis ich mit ihnen warm wurde, falls es denn überhaupt richtig geschah. Es lag wahrscheinlich auch an dem verkorksten Familienleben der Geschwister, dem schlechten Draht zu den Eltern, dass ich mich beim Lesen stets etwas fehl am Platz und unwohl gefühlt habe. Genießen konnte ich dieses Leseerlebnis kaum bis gar nicht und da kam es mir entgegen, dass das Buch ohnehin nicht allzu viele Seiten hat, muss ich zugeben. Ich war recht erleichtert, als ich das Ende dann erreicht hatte.
Die Geschichte lief relativ lasch dahin, alles überschattet von dieser düsteren, hoffnungslosen Grundstimmung. Ich hatte wirklich Probleme damit, mit ansehen zu müssen, wie diese Familie vor sich hin rottet, maximal gegen Ende gab es ein wenig Hoffnung, die mich aber auch nicht mehr richtig aufmuntern konnte. Ich hatte mir insgesamt weit mehr Lichtblicke erhofft, aber die blieben leider zu größten Teilen aus.
Mein Fazit:
Für mich war das leider kein Buch, mit dem ich genüssliche Lesestunden verbringen konnte. Zu düster und trübsinnig kam die Geschichte mit der Familie darin daher, zu frustrierend war das Zusammenleben zu beobachten.
Von mir gibt es leider nur 2 von 5 Sternen, so leid mir das auch tut.
Das Buch ist aus der Sicht der drei Kids geschrieben, was ich zwar gut fand, mir aber dennoch nicht dabei geholfen hat, mich in sie hineinzuversetzen. Es dauerte recht lang, bis ich mit ihnen warm wurde, falls es denn überhaupt richtig geschah. Es lag wahrscheinlich auch an dem verkorksten Familienleben der Geschwister, dem schlechten Draht zu den Eltern, dass ich mich beim Lesen stets etwas fehl am Platz und unwohl gefühlt habe. Genießen konnte ich dieses Leseerlebnis kaum bis gar nicht und da kam es mir entgegen, dass das Buch ohnehin nicht allzu viele Seiten hat, muss ich zugeben. Ich war recht erleichtert, als ich das Ende dann erreicht hatte.
Die Geschichte lief relativ lasch dahin, alles überschattet von dieser düsteren, hoffnungslosen Grundstimmung. Ich hatte wirklich Probleme damit, mit ansehen zu müssen, wie diese Familie vor sich hin rottet, maximal gegen Ende gab es ein wenig Hoffnung, die mich aber auch nicht mehr richtig aufmuntern konnte. Ich hatte mir insgesamt weit mehr Lichtblicke erhofft, aber die blieben leider zu größten Teilen aus.
Mein Fazit:
Für mich war das leider kein Buch, mit dem ich genüssliche Lesestunden verbringen konnte. Zu düster und trübsinnig kam die Geschichte mit der Familie darin daher, zu frustrierend war das Zusammenleben zu beobachten.
Von mir gibt es leider nur 2 von 5 Sternen, so leid mir das auch tut.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Siblings Bird, Fitch, and Cash are all in the same grade because Cash is repeating seventh grade. Their family seems like it is just a group of individuals, each in their own orbit, occasionally interacting with each other. The siblings’ common denominator is their science teacher, who they all have during different periods but are all studying space to gear up for the Challenger launch. When disaster strikes, the siblings feel their orbits pulling together. The characters are each well developed, and though some readers may not like the open ending, it made me want to give each of the siblings a hug. Highly recommended for insightful readers in grades 5+.
Oh my god this was so good. The story is centered around the Thomas family, specifically Cash and his younger twin siblings, Fitch and Bird, in January of 1986. Fitch is angry all the time and doesn’t know why, Cash is close to failing 7th grade, again, and Bird wants to fly away from everything as commander of the Space Shuttle Challenger. But everything changes when Challenger explodes 73 seconds into its flight. I ran though all the emotions when I learned what happened as I read @erinentrada ‘s words. I was 15, standing in line, ready to leave Earth Science in my freshman year of HS.
Beautifully written, this is another must read from Erin Entrada Kelly. “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God. ‘“ President Ronald Reagan.
Beautifully written, this is another must read from Erin Entrada Kelly. “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God. ‘“ President Ronald Reagan.
This book reads like a time capsule. Captures the forgotten nuances of the late 1980s; Knight Rider, rotary phones? Complicated, authentic look into being in a family. Wonderful book.