When Ro sets herself on building a rocket and a case of switched identical purple folders brings her and Benji together, they find that the grief and loss that they carry feels lighter as their friendship grows – and perhaps the two of them can find what they are looking for. Unbeknownst to each other at first, both Ro and Benji are searching for a connection to their lost fathers. Both Ro and Benji carry heavy weights in their hearts – Ro has just recently lost her father in a car accident and Benji is looking for his father that has disappeared from his family’s life. Set in the 1980s, Clues to the Universe follows biracial Chinese-American girl Ro and white American boy, Benji. And friends, I adored Clues to the Universe, and I’m excited to tell you why. Well, if you love quiet YA just as much as I do, may I propose ‘quiet MG’? Though a lot of contemporary MG feels like quiet MG – stories about a young person’s growth as they overcome an everyday conflict that leads them to learn something about themselves – there’s something about Clues to the Universe, the debut middle-grade book by Christina Li, that feels like your quintessential quiet MG. I’ve always loved ‘quiet YA’ – young adult stories that aren’t about saving the world but are about the mundane yet meaningful low stakes that focus on the growth and emotional journeys of its characters. This does not affect my opinion in any way. I was provided an eARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Doesn’t he realize how much Ro wishes she could be in his place?Īs the two face bullying, grief, and their own differences, Benji and Ro must try to piece together clues to some of the biggest questions in the universe. But Benji hesitates, which infuriates Ro.

Though Ro and Benji were only supposed to be science class partners, the pair become unlikely friends: Benji helps Ro finish her rocket, and Ro figures out a way to reunite Benji and his dad. Too bad his dad walked out years ago, and Benji has no way to contact him. When he finds a sketch that suggests that his dad created the comics, he’s thrilled. When he dies unexpectedly, all Ro has left of him is an unfinished model rocket they had been working on together.īenjamin Burns doesn’t like science, but he can’t get enough of Spacebound, a popular comic book series. The only thing Rosalind Ling Geraghty loves more than watching NASA launches with her dad is building rockets with him. This #ownvoices debut about losing and finding family, forging unlikely friendships, and searching for answers to big questions will resonate with fans of Erin Entrada Kelly and Rebecca Stead.

Clues to the Universe by Christina Li