The First State of Being

by Erin Entrada Kelly (Author)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade

When twelve-year-old Michael Rosario meets a mysterious boy from the future, his life is changed forever. From bestselling author Erin Entrada Kelly, winner of the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, this novel explores themes of family, friendship, trust, and forgiveness. The First State of Being is for fans of Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me.

It's August 1999. For twelve-year-old Michael Rosario, life at Fox Run Apartments in Red Knot, Delaware, is as ordinary as ever--except for the looming Y2K crisis and his overwhelming crush on his fifteen-year-old babysitter, Gibby. But when a disoriented teenage boy named Ridge appears out of nowhere, Michael discovers there is more to life than stockpiling supplies and pining over Gibby.

It turns out that Ridge is carefree, confident, and bold, things Michael wishes he could be. Unlike Michael, however, Ridge isn't where he belongs. When Ridge reveals that he's the world's first time traveler, Michael and Gibby are stunned but curious. As Ridge immerses himself in 1999--fascinated by microwaves, basketballs, and malls--Michael discovers that his new friend has a book that outlines the events of the next twenty years, and his curiosity morphs into something else: focused determination. Michael wants--no, needs--to get his hands on that book. How else can he prepare for the future? But how far is he willing to go to get it?

A story of time travel, friendship, found family, and first loves, this thematically rich novel is distinguished by its voice, character development, setting, and exploration of the issues that resonate with middle grade readers.

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Kirkus

A warmhearted blend of nostalgia and futurism.

Publishers Weekly

When a mysterious teenager named Ridge appears at Michael Rosario's apartment complex on Michael's 12th birthday in 1999, Michael believes there's "something off" about him. Ridge soon reveals he's from 2199 and, after being goaded by his brothers, used the recently developed, controversial Spatial Teleportation Module to travel back to 1999, his "favorite year in history." Shy, awkward, and compassionate Michael, who is half Filipino and assumed half white, and only has two friends--his 15-year-old babysitter and crush Gibby, who cues as white, and "brown weathered" Mr. Mosely, the complex's 62-year-old maintenance man--has been secretly, obsessively stockpiling (and shoplifting) supplies for himself and his loving, hard-working single mother in preparation for the assumed disaster of Y2K. Michael realizes Ridge can tell him if Y2K was indeed a worldwide crisis, but Ridge refuses. As Michael and Gibby indulge Ridge's fascination with shopping malls and 1999 objects, he develops a previously unknown self-confidence that is well rendered and endearing. Interspersed audio transcripts and textbook excerpts from 2199 provide background for Ridge, and an epilogue reveals a delicious, thought-provoking twist on a question posed early on by Kelly (Those Kids from Fawn Creek): would the disruption of time influence past, present, or future events? Ages 8-12. (Mar.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780063337312
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Greenwillow Books
Publication date
March 05, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
JUV064000 - Juvenile Fiction | Time Travel
JUV039270 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Strangers
JUV036020 - Juvenile Fiction | Technology | Inventions
Library of Congress categories
Time travel
Friendship
Science fiction
Teenage boys
Delaware
Time-travel fiction
Apartments
Future, The
Nineteen ninety-nine, A.D
Junior high school boys

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