Hello, Universe - A story closer to fate than a coincidence, winner of the 2018 Newbery Grand Prize

Description

2018 Newbery Award Winner!
Stories of everyday adventures that make life special!

[Washington Post] Best Children’s Books of 2017
[School Library] Best Books of 2017
New York Public Library's Best Books of 2017
Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2017
Los Angeles Public Library Best Books of 2017
Selected as the best multicultural children's book of 2017 by the U.S. Center for Multicultural Children's Literature
Selected as a must-read book of 2017 by American Public Radio
Capital Choices' Books to Watch in 2018
Selected as a book to watch in 2018 by the Children's Librarians Association
Texas Library Association Blobonnet Award 2018-2019 Recommended Books
New York Times bestseller
US Amazon Best Seller

『Hello, Universe』 won the Newbery Medal in 2018, which is awarded to the best work contributing to children's literature. The Newbery Award, the most reliable children's literature award with a history of nearly 1922 years since 100, selected 『Hello, Universe』 as the grand prize winner in 2018, achieving a creative combination of characters in a story flow with changing perspectives, and the modern adventure story is filled with humor. He commented that it shines with sincere emotions. This story records an amazing day experienced by four people entering middle school. The intertwined lives of four people who did not seem to be connected are told from different perspectives. In each chapter, the four main characters alternate as narrators of the story. And the events of that day centered around the well are a story closer to fate than coincidence. And to the readers of this book, I ask this question in the name of Virgil, in the name of Valencia, in the name of Kaori, and in the name of Chet Bullance. “Can our lives change with just one word?”

Virgil Salinas is timid and thoughtful. Valencia Somerset is smart and stubborn. Kaori Tanaka is an astrologer who foresees the future. ‘Bull’ Chet Bullance is the meanest street leader in the neighborhood. These four 11-year-olds are not friends with each other. The schools aren't even the same. But on the day when Chet Bullance plays a terrible prank on Virgil and his pet Gulliver, these four universes become intertwined in an unimaginable and surprising way, and they come face to face with each other. Should we say that what they experienced was just a coincidence? Or are there no coincidences in this world?

2018 Newbery Grand Prize winner, shining with humor and emotion
The Newbery Award, established in 1922, is an award given annually to authors and works that have contributed to children's literature. The Newbery Medal, one of the oldest children's literature awards, was awarded to Kelly's third novel, [Hello, Space] in 2018. Kelly's Newbery Award is the fourth Asian-American and the first Filipino-American to win the award.
This work features diversity and bullying, topics that writer Kelly frequently addresses. It can be said that the author reflects her experience living as an Asian American. In [Hello, Universe], Chet Bullance, a villain and street leader, bullies the timid and shy Virgil, ultimately causing the rest of Kaori and Valencia's universe to collide. But the story is not serious or depressing. The work is humorous and the emotions of the characters are well depicted, making it easy to get lost and read. With a smile on your face. And finally, we get a glimpse of the beginning of a lovely(?) friendship.

Immerse yourself in the vivid emotions of all the characters!
Author Kelly said this upon receiving the Newbery Grand Prize for [Hello Universe].

I am not conscious of my readers. I just write for the characters in my novels. Virgil Salinas is shy, lonely, and always out of the spotlight. Valencia, where she wants to be the next Jane Goodall but has no friends. … … I write for those children. Because I was one of those kids, and I still am.

As the author says, the characters in Kelly's novels are vivid. I feel alive. If you actually go to that street, you might be able to meet Virgil and Chet Bullance. Vivid characters like these are the great strength of Kelly's novel. As a shy and shy child, Virgil's every word and every action can be summed up in one word, 'Virgil-like.' Also, we can understand that everything about Valencia, which we cannot hear but is confident and stubborn, is something that is natural in Valencia. Even Kaori and her younger brother Gen have their own universe. In the story, individual universes bump into each other, collide, become entangled, and connect to form a larger universe. And the first key to becoming a big universe is the word 'goodbye'.

A story of everyday adventure that makes it the most special!
The adventures in this book are not special. It's not like an adventure exploring the basement of a medieval castle where some vampires appear. As Chet Bullance, who is weaker than anyone else on the inside but pretends to be strong on the outside, begins to harass Virgil, Virgil is trapped at the bottom of a well with his pet Gulliver, and Virgil has no way to communicate with people who do not know where he is. As the situations become intertwined, the story depicts a great adventure. The case is not great. It may be said to be a one-day happening in the background of everyday life. But the objective size of the event is not important. This adventure is as big an event as the Space War for 11-year-olds, and each person's emotions and thoughts within it make it the most special event in the world. Everyday events that contain my emotions are bound to have a much greater absorbing power than big events such as a war in another country that do not contain emotions. In that respect, [Hello, Space] depicts in the most special way an adventure that can occur in reality.

Each universe shines with an interesting composition!
In 『Hello, Universe』, Virgil, Kaori, Valencia, and Chet Bullance appear in turns as the main characters in each chapter. The story is told from the character's point of view. If you look at the picture at the beginning of the chapter, you can tell who the main character of this chapter is. The bravado-filled story of the villain Chet Bullance is also unique, but more than anything, in the chapter where Valencia is the main character, unlike other chapters, he appears as the narrator 'I'. However, we cannot say that the main character of this book is Valencia. All four people are the main characters. It is simply a device to focus more on the inner world of Valencia, who cannot hear. If you focus on each person's universe and become immersed in the story, you will be moved by the way each universe pulls and collides with each other!