MG -The Probability of Everything

Everett, Sarah. The Probability of Everything. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2023. 978-0-063-25655-2. $17.99. 336 p. Grades 5-7.

Eleven year old Kemi is a budding scientist. She has a loving nuclear family and a diverse and generous extended family. Obsessed with probability, Kemi faces challenges through research, facts, and number crunching. When faced with the end of the world as she knows it, Kemi bravely forges forward undeterred by the demise of everything she has ever known or loved. Explaining more of the plot would ruin the ending for readers, but be assured it is fresh, unexpected, and thoroughly thought provoking.

THOUGHTS: This middle grade debut novel has a truly incredible surprise twist at the end. Well written, beautifully crafted, and careful never to give away the ending, this coming-of-age story touches on many current relevant topics including race, mental health, friendship, family, and grief. A powerful exploration of the powers of the mind.

Realistic Fiction

Elem. – Time Capsule

Redniss, Lauren. Time Capsule. Random House Kids, 2022. Unpaged. $18.99. 978-0-593-42593-0. Grades 3-6.

Redniss (author of National Book Award finalist Radioactive) turns her attention to time capsules as a way to remember history. The book has two parts. The first is a story of a present-day girl adding objects to her time capsule (readers could create reasons why she includes dice, a marble, a ticket….then a nightmare (about a terrible storm) and a dream (about outer space)). The second part is a ten-page author’s note which reads like a history of time capsules, then concludes with a bibliography alongside instructions on how to make a time capsule. With these two parts, the book seems designed for use with older elementary students curious about time capsules. 

THOUGHTS: For students wondering about time capsules and what they would include in their own. This seems well-suited as an introduction to history and social science mixed in our memories.

Picture Book          Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD