Hello, Universe by Filipina American Erin Entrada Kelly (Blackbird Fly; Land of Forgotten Girls) is about the unlikely connections people make when they pay attention to the "letters" the universe is always sending.
Four middle-school-aged narrators' stories are woven, Shakespearean comedy-style, in a web of crossed paths. The wheels are set in motion for the four to collide when a bully named Chet Bullens tosses 11-year-old Filipino American Virgil Salinas's purple backpack (and guinea pig) into an abandoned well in the woods, leaving the horrified boy no choice but to climb down and rescue his pet. This unfortunate event on the first day of summer, fortunately, ends up bearing all sorts of unexpected fruit for Virgil and two of his girl classmates (the other two narrators): hearing-impaired biologist-to-be Valencia Somerset and Japanese American psychic Kaori Tanaka.
Kelly creates rich and distinctive characters by detailing their idiosyncrasies. Small and skinny Virgil struggles not only against the bull-like Chet, but also winces when his boisterous family reminds him of how introverted he is by calling him "Turtle." If he weren't so shy, he would love to befriend Valencia, a girl he admires in class. Valencia, though unsure whether she believes in a spiritual realm, sends small conversational prayers to Saint Rene, whom she discovered in a book her classmate gave her called Famous Deaf People from History: "I would have never given Roberta a book about Famous Blond People or Famous People Who Talk Too Much..." Valencia reflects, "but the good thing was that I found out about Saint Rene." This practical optimism is part of Valencia's social shell, which she uses to convince herself, "Alone is good. It's less trouble."
Twelve-year-old Kaori, the psychic and "reincarnated spirit of a 65-year-old freedom fighter," used to have only one client and that was Virgil: "I see you in a dark place," she warns him in her incense-filled spirit chamber. She's surprised when conscientious Virgil misses his follow-up appointment, which distracts her from her dream-interpretation session with her new client, Valencia. The two girls, joined by Gen, Kaori's little-sister assistant, decide to head into the woods with some special stones they think will help locate him.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the well, Virgil is starting to realize that his life is not unchangeable. He discovers his inner bayani (hero) when he faces Pah, the monster bird who rules darkness in his beloved grandmother's grisly Filipino stories. He emerges from his ordeal willing to face his other fears, which seem suddenly less significant in contrast to the dark well: "Being face-to-face with death made Chet seem so... ordinary. Boring, even." Will the impossible happen? Will Kaori, Valencia and Gen manage to find and rescue him?
The day's adventures play out like a condensed hero's journey, from tribulation to self-discovery. Through Kelly's playful, inventive plotting, Virgil, Valencia, Kaori and Chet all confront "the universe" in their own way. In the process, Kelly gives this hope to young readers: we can each discover our inner hero and transform even our toughest struggles by opening ourselves up to the mysteries of chance and reaching out to friends and loved ones. --Kristianne Huntsberger, writer, storyteller and partnership marketing manager at Shelf Awareness
Shelf Talker: In Erin Entrada Kelly's third novel, the lives of four middle-schoolers intersect when a bully tosses a boy's backpack into an abandoned well, not knowing there's a guinea pig inside.