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A review by blithesquesttoread
How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby
5.0
As you would know there are books that you read and like. But then there are books you read which you LIKE .
How to become a Planet is a book I can't be gladder to read. It's a middle grade themed book talking about depression and anxiety and it features queer characters! Pluto, our main lead, loves all things space. After being diagnosed with depression and anxiety, she misses the last month of school, her friendship with her best friend is on stake and she decides to make a list to achieve all these and becoming her old self.
I can't really choose the right words to describe this book and my reading experience because it was so many things. Middle Grade books somehow have a knack to make you feel and experience stuff which hits harder.
Space has always been fascinating to me, especially astrophysics. Being obsessed with stars, understanding the concept of black hole (I was once again amazed by it) and learning about planets, orbit and why pluto is no longer a planet were definitely a few things even i wondered as a kid and seeing Pluto questioning similar things was really intriguing. But what captivated me the most about this book was Pluto understanding that it's okay to not be okay.
Making lists is a good motivation to start and do something but for Pluto it became suffocating to follow the list after a point, especially if she saw that she's failing certain tasks which she enjoyed in her past. Her journey was more about accepting that she hasn't changed. She's the same Pluto who now has to add her diagnosis to how she functions. And slowly through the book, she comes to realize this.
Apart from this I really loved how Pluto and Fallon developed their friendship slowly knowing their feelings towards each other. Fallon has a list of her own and she ropes in Pluto to achieve things in both of their lists. Fallon and Pluto together learned about few necessary stuff. Even after having rough patches in their lives, they strived to do better as children so young do.
I cannot stress enough how happy I was to see depression and anxiety being represented in a middle grade book because it is something that the kids should know about. And it wasn't just the kids understanding this aspect, it was also the adults around the kids who were learning, understanding and trying their level best. This book is really honest. Pluto and her mom's relationship was honestly one of the things that touched me super deeply. Omg y'all should honestly read this book it's so beautiful, honest and amazing ❤
How to become a Planet is a book I can't be gladder to read. It's a middle grade themed book talking about depression and anxiety and it features queer characters! Pluto, our main lead, loves all things space. After being diagnosed with depression and anxiety, she misses the last month of school, her friendship with her best friend is on stake and she decides to make a list to achieve all these and becoming her old self.
I can't really choose the right words to describe this book and my reading experience because it was so many things. Middle Grade books somehow have a knack to make you feel and experience stuff which hits harder.
Space has always been fascinating to me, especially astrophysics. Being obsessed with stars, understanding the concept of black hole (I was once again amazed by it) and learning about planets, orbit and why pluto is no longer a planet were definitely a few things even i wondered as a kid and seeing Pluto questioning similar things was really intriguing. But what captivated me the most about this book was Pluto understanding that it's okay to not be okay.
Making lists is a good motivation to start and do something but for Pluto it became suffocating to follow the list after a point, especially if she saw that she's failing certain tasks which she enjoyed in her past. Her journey was more about accepting that she hasn't changed. She's the same Pluto who now has to add her diagnosis to how she functions. And slowly through the book, she comes to realize this.
Apart from this I really loved how Pluto and Fallon developed their friendship slowly knowing their feelings towards each other. Fallon has a list of her own and she ropes in Pluto to achieve things in both of their lists. Fallon and Pluto together learned about few necessary stuff. Even after having rough patches in their lives, they strived to do better as children so young do.
I cannot stress enough how happy I was to see depression and anxiety being represented in a middle grade book because it is something that the kids should know about. And it wasn't just the kids understanding this aspect, it was also the adults around the kids who were learning, understanding and trying their level best. This book is really honest. Pluto and her mom's relationship was honestly one of the things that touched me super deeply. Omg y'all should honestly read this book it's so beautiful, honest and amazing ❤