The Year We Fell From Space, by Amy Sarig King. Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic. 2019. $22.99 ages 10 and up

"I’m Liberty Johansen and I’m going to change the way people look at the night sky. I’m going to free them of old-constellation rules and teach them how to draw their own maps because the sky is trying to tell them something ... only they don’t know it yet because I’m a sixth grader and nobody ever listens to sixth graders who say they’re going to do big things. But I’m an exception. We’re a family of exceptions.”

I have read a number of excellent middle years novels lately, and am going to start this week with another remarkable work by Amy Sarig King. To say she writes memorable stories is a massive understatement.

Liberty loves looking at the stars, and does so often. She creates star maps for what she sees in the night sky, and names her own constellations. She uses her father's love of many of the same things are her guiding light. Her parents' separation and decision to divorce wreak havoc in her life. As the number of days of not seeing her father grow, her anger does, too.  In the midst of all that is happening, she watches a meteor fall to earth nearby, and brings it home.

Her anger is aimed in different directions, but mostly inwardly. Throwing a toaster through the kitchen window, hiding a diamond ring where it will never be found by a school nemesis, and eventually telling her father just exactly how she feels about the family separation, cause her the added worry that she might also be suffering from the same depression her father is. She uses the meteor as a sounding board for all that she is experiencing. This allows her to piece together the struggles and fears she is facing at home and at school.  Liberty is spirited, while also willing to seek counselling to help her navigate her new, unwanted reality.

 “I don’t know what aliens would think about humans if they came here. Humans are weird. We have some problems, I guess. I care more about stars than I care about humans anyway. Humans have been nothing but a pain in my butt so far. Which makes me more like Dad. And I’d be lying if I said that didn’t worry me.”

In this emotional and realistic look at the effects of divorce on a family, Ms. King navigates the pain and grief felt through Liberty's eyes. Poignant and heartbreaking, it shows Liberty, in the midst of her rage and uncertainty, to be a sympathetic and understanding friend to others. Though she is not perfect, she does her best to grow from her experiences and to find the help that she and her family need at a very critical time.