I’ve read a lot of YA books about space, exploring the vast unknown, and astronauts recently. But none of them have been as emotional and moving as Satellite. Nick Lake created a moving portrait of what it feels like to be an outsider.
Told completely from Leo’s perspective, the reader really connects with him and falls deep into his raw emotions. Leo writes in textspeak throughout the entire novel. There are no capital letters and many abbreviated words. While this style can be clunky, in this book it reminds the reader that we’re seeing the world through Leo’s eyes. Everything we know about the space station, life as a kid who has only known zero gravity, and experiencing Earth for the first time is told by Leo. The unique writing style keeps you firmly settled in Leo’s world.
I loved that Lake created 3 characters, Leo, Libra, and Orion who all had this unconventional childhood. Though we only get Leo’s perspective in the narrative, we learn about the other space-born teens through Leo. Each of the characters had their own interests, voice, and attitude towards going to Earth. The three teens have only every known life outside of Earth. They’re surrounded by stars and seemingly never-ending blackness. Libra and Orion are more excited about going down to Earth while Leo is fairly content with this life on the space station. Libra and Orion were a perfect contrast to Leo, someone who longed for space as soon as he landed on Earth. They were friends with a shared experience that no one else could ever understand but still had their own dynamic personalities. We’re able to understand Leo better with the contrast of his friends.
Lake also writes gorgeous descriptions of the things that we consider ordinary. He writes about the first bite of ice-cold ice cream and the subsequent bizarre feeling of a getting a brain freeze. Leo steps on grass for the first time and is amazed at the unexpected cushion of the blades under his bare feet. Lake makes you think twice about the things we experience every day that is a totally new experience for Leo.
Satellite also dives into other themes of family relationships, sexuality, and the idea of home. Leo has a complicated relationship with his mother and grandfather, both astronauts. In his struggle to find comfort and belonging on Earth he must also deal with getting to know a family he’s never been around. He’s lonely and feels mostly unloved by the mother who gave birth to him in space and left him. He also tries to understand his feelings for Orion and how he can move forward in a world far away from him. He has high hopes for how his life will change on Earth and finds that he must adjust his expectations.
Readers will also be sucked in to the mystery behind The Company, who is now behind all space travel and exploration. In a near future, NASA has been disbanded and The Company has taken over. An evasive and mysterious organization, Leo starts to notice things about The Company and it’s programs that he’s never noticed before.
Interspersed with a lot of scientific information and suspense, Satellite also manages to be a poignant portrait of friendship, loss, and courage. This book is a great readalike for teens who loved The Martian and readers of science-fiction.
Satellite is out today. Add it to your Goodreads shelf and follow Nick Lake on Twitter.
“In Savannah Espinoza’s small New Mexico hometown, kids either flee after graduation or they’re trapped there forever. Vanni never planned to get stuck—but that was before her father was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, leaving her and her mother to care for him. Now, she doesn’t have much of a plan at all: living at home, working as a performing mermaid at a second-rate water park, distracting herself with one boy after another.
“Taja Brown lives with her parents and older brother and younger sister, in Houston, Texas. Taja has always known what the expectations of her conservative and tightly-knit African American family are—do well in school, go to church every Sunday, no intimacy before marriage.
“Janey King’s priorities used to be clear: track, school, friends, and family. But when seventeen-year-old Janey learns that her seemingly happy parents are getting divorced, her world starts to shift. Back at school, Luke Hallstrom, an adorable senior, pursues Janey, and she realizes that she has two new priorities to consider: love and sex.
“Despite sending him letters ever since she was thirteen, Taliah Abdallat never thought she’d ever really meet Julian Oliver. But one day, while her mother is out of the country, the famed rock star from Staring Into the Abyss shows up on her doorstep. This makes sense – kinda – because Julian Oliver is Taliah’s father, even though her mother would never admit it to her.
“Elliot Gabaroche is very clear on what she isn’t going to do this summer.
“Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.
“A cannon. A strap.
“Marcos Rivas wants to find love.
“ttyl and its sequels follow the ups and downs of high school for the winsome threesome, three very different but very close friends: wild Maddie (mad maddie), bubbly Angela (SnowAngel), and reserved Zoe (zoegirl). Through teacher crushes, cross-country moves, bossy Queen Bees, incriminating party pics, and other bumps along the way, author Lauren Myracle explores the many potholes of teenagedom with the unflinching honesty and pitch-perfect humor that made this series a staple of young adult literature.” -Amazon synopsis
“It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .
“Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. A Harlem drugstore owner was shot and killed in his store, and the word is that Steve served as the lookout.
“Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn’t look all that great: they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. But Tibby says they’re great. She’d love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think they’re fabulous. Lena decides that they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them. Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Even Carmen (who never thinks she looks good in anything) thinks she looks good in the pants. Over a few bags of cheese puffs, they decide to form a sisterhood and take the vow of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . . . the next morning, they say good-bye. And then the journey of the pants — and the most memorable summer of their lives — begins.” -Goodreads synopsis
“Dimple Lala doesn’t know what to think. Her parents are from India, and she’s spent her whole life resisting their traditions. Then suddenly she gets to high school and everything Indian is trendy. To make matters worse, her parents arrange for her to meet a “suitable boy.” Of course it doesn’t go well — until Dimple goes to a club and finds him spinning a magical web . Suddenly the suitable boy is suitable because of his sheer unsuitability. Complications ensue. This is a funny, thoughtful story about finding your heart, finding your culture, and finding your place in America.” -Goodreads synopsis
“This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.
“Last year, Annabel was “the girl who has everything” — at least that’s the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf’s Department Store.
“Sticky is a beat-around-the-head foster kid with nowhere to call home but the street, and an outer shell so tough that no one will take him in. He started out life so far behind the pack that the finish line seems nearly unreachable. He’s a white boy living and playing in a world where he doesn’t seem to belong.
“I was thirteen when my dad caught me with Tommy Webber in the back of Tommy’s Buick, parked next to the old Chart House down in Montara at eleven o’clock on a Tuesday night. Tommy was seventeen and the supposed friend of my brother, Darren.
America is a nation made up of immigrants. Many of those immigrants are undocumented teens who feel isolated, invisible, and unimportant. I try to use my library displays to say “we see you, you are important and valuable at the library and your story deserves to be told.” Teens carry the burdens of worrying about their status, their family’s status, and their livelihood. I made this display to let readers know that we see them, we know the weight they carry, and they are not alone. I also hope these books inspire empathy in others who are not living the undocumented immigrant story.
