14 Apr / Clues to the Universe by Christina Li [in Booklist]
Relative newbie Mimi Chang and seasoned Josh Hurley prove well-paired narrating two 12-year-old seventh-graders in 1980s Sacramento who initially seem to share little more than loneliness – and the specter of missing fathers.
Ro’s father is dead, killed by a drunk driver. She hasn’t moved houses, but she’s had to switch schools from private to public. Benji’s dad, meanwhile, is just deadbeat missing, although he seems to reappear with every new installment of Benji’s favorite comic – something Benji regularly shared with his BFF, who just moved to New Haven.
Inadvertently switching folders in science class brings the strangers cautiously together, a new friendship that is sealed with a deal: Benji will help get Ro’s rockets to the science fair; Ro will find a path to reunion for Benji and his father. Trajectories meander, but cosmic bonds prevail.
Chang’s Ro is consistently exacting, much like the scientist she’s determined she’ll become; Hurley bestows Benji, already a talented artist used to underperforming at school, with a looser, more volatile personality. Together, the complementary duo imbue Li’s #OwnVoices debut with satisfying charm and lasting empathy.
Review: “Media,” Booklist, March 15, 2021
Readers: Adult
Published: 2021