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From award-winning author Lindsay Lackey comes Farther Than the Moon, a heartfelt story about a boy who wants to become an astronaut, but wonders if his dreams can include his brother with disabilities, perfect for fans of We Dream of Space and Song for a Whale.All thirteen-year-old Houston Stewart has ever wanted is to become an astronaut. His dreams feel like they're finally coming true when he's accepted to the highly-competitive Junior Astronaut Recruitment Program – if only he could bring his little brother, Robbie, with him.Ever since their dad left, Houston and Robbie have been inseparable. It's hard to tell where Houston's love of space ends and where Robbie's begins. But Robbie's cerebral palsy and epilepsy mean he needs medical attention at home, so Houston is forced to take this giant leap for the two of them all on his own.At camp, Houston is quickly drawn into the orbit of new friends, cosmic adventures, and a long-lost grandfather. But as Houston struggles to meet the program's rigorous demands, he’s forced to reckon with the truth that Robbie may never visit space like the brothers have always hoped. But Houston is determined to honor Robbie’s dream, even if it seems like an impossible mission. So, like a good astronaut, he dares to make a new plan — one that shoots for the stars.
Publication Year: 2023
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0Thank you so much to NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!
Houston Stewart has dreamed of going to space one day for as long as he can remember, to follow in his famous astronaut absentee grandfather's footsteps. And especially after their father left the picture and he and his younger brother Robbie became inseparable, his plans grew to include taking Robbie with him to the moon. The catch? Robbie's cerebral palsy and epilepsy mean that he isn't the typical candidate for any of the world's current astronaut training programs. So when Houston is accepted into a highly competitive Junior Astronaut Recruitment Program, he's left to make the difficult choice to missing out on the first step to achieving his dreams and leaving Robbie behind, if only for a few weeks.
Houston's journey is full of so many important lessons, from some as simple as the importance of honesty and others as big and important as how to ask for help when you need it and how to accept the views of others or how to apologize when you've done something to hurt someone even if you thought you were doing the right thing. Houston's friends from the JARP were an incredible diverse group of brilliant kids with a wide range of abilities--many shout outs to the multiple ladies in STEM we got to see take the stage in this story--and the way that Houston is given the chance to teach his new friends about Robbie and his disabilities while also learning so much more about Robbie's and those of others for himself (getting to see a young girl who comes from a whole family who uses sign language was so exciting).
The inclusion of so many different races, languages, schools of thought, neurodivergence, and mental as well as physical disabilities, and the way that Lindsay Lackey explores the effect that each of these things impacts the outlooks of different people while also looking at the importance of our intentions versus how our actions effect others is so, so important. I can't wait to buy a copy of this for my nephew. It's one of my favorite new middle grade titles.
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