In Jill Tew's clear-sighted and endearing middle-grade Rayana Johnson's Giant Leap, tween Rayana finally gets the opportunity to attend space camp where she gets firsthand experience with the adage "wherever you go, there you are."
Twelve-year-old Ray wants to be a mission control specialist for NASA and has for years dreamed of attending the NASA sleepaway camp, Galaxy Camp. Now that she's arrived, however, the experience isn't quite what she expected. Her initial hours onsite are great as she bonds with the other girls in Pod Three-Delta and meets cute camp counselor Isaiah. But the camp seizes her cell phone (which she needs to stay in contact with bestie Kaya, whose father recently died of cancer), and her thoughts keep returning to her parents' recently rocky relationship. Then, the nervous stomach-ache she can't seem to shake turns out to be menstrual cramps--Ray has started her period "hundreds of miles away from home." Ray feels trapped "by something I didn't ask my body to do," scared about her parents, worried about Kaya, and saddened when one of her podmates calls her a "bougie Black girl whose Daddy has a PhD."
Tew (An Ocean Apart) develops a structured character who creates meticulous lists and reminder alarms while dreaming about being in a position where the categories and tables in her head will be an asset. The author's ability to infuse her characters with authenticity through humorous dialogue and cultural nuance makes Rayana Johnson's Giant Leap feel like a sneak peek into a real-life tween's diary. --Rachel Werner, author and teaching artist at The Loft Literary Center and Lighthouse Writers Workshop