HELLO, UNIVERSE by Erin Entrada Kelly
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Virgil has a problem. He knows that he and Valencia are destined to be friends. (They have the same initials! It is fate!) But Valencia doesn’t know he exists, and unlike the brave Filipino heroes in his grandmother’s stories, Virgil is a shy and quiet and too scared to introduce himself. Fortunately, he knows just who to take his problem to: Kaori.
Valencia has a problem, too. She has been haunted by nightmares that she doesn’t understand. Not to mention being tormented by the local bully, Chet the Bull, who mocks her for being deaf. When she discovers an advertisement for Kaori, the child psychic, she decides to take the risk and make an appointment. But her appointment is interrupted when Kaori realizes that one of her other clients has vanished, and Valencia joins in the search.
This story of the intertwined lives of four children has just enough intrigue and suspense to keep the reader going. I wasn’t personally fond of the switching point of views and mixture of first and third person narration, but the story itself is engaging. I’d recommend it to middle grade readers who enjoy realistic fiction.
Susan the Librarian 