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Summary
Summary
A girl's friendship with a lonely black hole leads her to face her own sadness in this original, funny, and touching middle grade novel for fans of Crenshaw and Flora & Ulysses .
When eleven-year-old Stella Rodriguez shows up at NASA to request that her recording be included in Carl Sagan's Golden Record, something unexpected happens: A black hole follows her home, and sets out to live in her house as a pet. The black hole swallows everything he touches, which is challenging to say the least--but also turns out to be a convenient way to get rid of those items that Stella doesn't want around. Soon the ugly sweaters her aunt has made for her all disappear within the black hole, as does the smelly class hamster she's taking care of, and most important, all the reminders of her dead father that are just too painful to have around.
It's not until Stella, her younger brother, Cosmo, the family puppy, and even the bathroom tub all get swallowed up by the black hole that Stella comes to realize she has been letting her own grief consume her. And that's not the only thing she realizes as she attempts to get back home. This is an astonishingly original and funny adventure with a great big heart.
Author Notes
Michelle Cuevas graduated from Williams College and holds a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Virginia. She lives in Massachusetts.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Quirky 11-year-old Stella Rodriguez attempts to get an audience with Carl Sagan in order to send a unique cassette of Earth sounds into space on the Voyager. Instead, a black hole follows her home. She attempts to train it using dog-training manuals and finds it willingly swallows all memories connected with her late father, her annoying brother's talking tub-toy and child-like drawings, and the awful sweaters that her aunt always gives her. When it accidentally swallows the new puppy, she and her brother enter the black hole to retrieve it. Self-discovery combines with adventure to a satisfying conclusion. Stella's knowledge of astronomy serves as a springboard to work through the grieving process. Cuevas's techniques include time disruptions, imaginary creatures, and one-sided conversations with the deceased dad that provide a distinctive story. Only audio listeners are treated to the eerily vacuum-sounding narration when Stella first enters the black hole. Laura Ortiz narrates capably. VERDICT Recommended purchase for both elementary and middle schools.-Deb Whitbeck, formerly with West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
It's the summer of 1977, and after 11-year-old Stella Rodriguez visits NASA in a fruitless attempt to meet Carl Sagan, a black hole follows her home. Stella names him Larry, and although he tends to swallow everything around him, she realizes that he's just trying to cuddle. But after he consumes a treasured photo of her late father she explodes in anger, causing Larry to run away. Cuevas (Confessions of an Imaginary Friend) carefully balances an energetic plot full of silliness (at one point, Stella and her younger brother get sucked into the black hole themselves, an escapade that fittingly unfolds in white print on black pages) with more introspective concerns. Stella confronts the darkness literally and figuratively as she weighs the pros and cons of keeping a black hole as a pet: sure, he can swallow up the bad things in life, but he also takes away the good. Cuevas doesn't skirt the depths of sadness surrounding the death of a parent nor the difficulty of reconstructing one's sense of home afterward. Sketchlike b&w line drawings appear throughout. Ages 8-12. Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Eleven-year-old Stella is coping with her father's death when a black hole follows her home from a trip to NASA and eats everything in its path, including the family dog and Stella's memories. Cuevas delicately balances wild sci-fi with tremendous respect for her grieving heroine; illustrations and design choices (black pages with white text denote action inside the black hole) enhance the imaginative story. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Instead of a lost kitten, 11-year-old Stella "Bug" Rodriguez rescues a black hole she names Larry ("short for Singularity, which I'd read is a place of infinite gravity at the heart of a black hole").For a lonely, precocious, science-loving girl who idolizes Carl Sagan, nothing could be betterat least, at first. Soon the chaos of the actual black hole forces Stella to confront the metaphorical black hole of sadness left by the death of her father. Her intense griefequaled only by her fear of confronting it head oncontrasts with the wacky humor of a slightly domesticated black hole that consumes everything, including Stinky Stu, the class hamster, a neighbor's garden gnomes, and the new family puppy. Stella and her little brother, Cosmo, embark on a surreal journey, printed in white type on a black background, through Larry's depths in search of the dog, ordering up what they need as if Larry were a cosmic, malfunctioning Siri (" LAMPS!" we shouted. "NOT STAMPS. LAMPS! SWALLOW LIGHT. LIGHT!" A moment later we saw a kite sail by"). Throughout the book Stella addresses her father directly as "you," a potent reminder of the fresh intensity of her loss. Set in 1977, this quirky story is enhanced by charming pen-and-ink illustrations. Aside from Stella's surname, which suggests the family is Latinx, race and ethnicity are unspecified. An original tale of family love, scientific passion, and a truly epic journey of self-discovery. (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
An innocent trip to NASA takes an unpredictable turn when a black hole follows 10-year-old Stella Rodriguez home. Stella's mission had been to give Carl Sagan a recording of her father's laughter to be used on the Voyager Golden Record, the ultimate memorial, but instead of a meeting with Sagan, she's ended up with the world's weirdest pet. For the most part, Larry (short for Singularity) is quiescent, calmly absorbing things that cross his path, learning the odd command from Stella, and sleeping at the foot of her bed. One desperate night, he becomes a receptacle for all the items that painfully remind Stella of her father, with unforeseen consequences. After Larry accidentally eats the family's dog, Stella stages a rescue that launches her and her little brother into the black hole's inky abyss. As much a journey of grief and healing as literal adventure, Cuevas' story is both touching and funny. Stella must confront her feelings about her beloved father's death, and in the process, she learns to appreciate the family she has left.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2017 Booklist