reviews
WHAT GOES UP
Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine's List of Best Children's Books of 2018
What Goes UpWritten by Wen Jane Baragrey. Random House Books for Young Readers, 224 pp., $16.99. Twelve-year-old Robyn Goodfellow’s roof is cursed. Everything lands on her house: kites, paper airplanes, Frisbees—even a passing skydiver. But now Robyn might be in real danger: one of NASA’s satellites is falling out of orbit and will hit Earth. NASA projections say the satellite will fall harmlessly into the ocean, but Robyn isn’t convinced. If she has just weeks to live, Robyn wants to take care of some unfinished business—like finding her long-lost dad. Ages 8-12.
Read more here.
Booklist Online, November 2, 2018
What Goes Up.
Robyn Tinkerbell Goodfellow always knew her middle name came from a fairy, but it’s not until she reads
A Midsummer Night’s Dream that she realizes her whole name is fae. Not that she’s that surprised; her
single mom, who wears fairy wings to host children’s birthday parties, is a bit fairy obsessed. Still, it’s not
Robyn’s favorite thing, especially since she’s convinced that a NASA satellite, which has fallen out of
orbit and is headed for earth, is going to land on her house, and then everyone in the world will be
laughing at her stupid name. Far-fetched, maybe, but the funny thing is that everything seems to land on
Robyn’s roof, from neighborhood toys and lost cats to skydivers. What’s a girl to do but track down her
long-lost father—her albino genes are a pretty good lead, since there’s an albino family living one town
over—and get him to change her name before she’s squashed? Baragrey balances the more serious aspects
with whimsy and wit. A family-oriented tale with plenty of quirk.
— Maggie Reagan
School Library Journal, September 2018 Issue:
What Goes Up
Gr 4-6–Robyn is afraid for her life. She’s just learned that a NASA satellite will be crashing to the earth in a few weeks. NASA says it could hit anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere and probably not even on land, but Robyn knows it’s going to land right on the roof of her house. That’s because Robyn’s house has a magnet roof and everything lands there. Parachuters, frisbees, kites, cats, and more have turned up on Robyn’s roof! She has to hurry and find out who her real father is so that she can get him to help her find a new place to stay until the satellite lands or sign a form to help her change her name to something not so fairyish. The last thing she wants on her gravestone is Robyn Tinkerbell Goodfellow! Robyn enlists her best friend in one caper after another in order to get to her goal. Robyn’s growth in the story is natural and her resolutions to her problems are thoughtful. VERDICT A quirky, fun story set in a town filled with unique and amusing characters. Recommended to fans of Carl Hiaasen.–Terry Ann Lawler, Burton Barr Library, Phoenix
"Robyn’s anxieties and determination resound through her humorous first-person narration. A cast of very zany local characters and a tension-filled plot driven by the approaching satellite enhance Robyn’s quest to uncover her real identity." -- Kirkus reviews. Read more here.
"Funny, charming, slightly kooky, and absolutely brimming with heart. I loved these characters and their odd, small-town lives." --Stefan Bachmann, internationally bestselling author of The Peculiar.
"With warmth and whimsy, What Goes Up explores the security of friendship, the permanence of family, and the comfort that comes from learning the place where you belong." -- Caroline Starr Rose, author of May B.
"What Goes Up is filled with humor, wit, and warmth. I loved it!" --Juliana Stone, author of Boys Like You.
Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine's List of Best Children's Books of 2018
What Goes UpWritten by Wen Jane Baragrey. Random House Books for Young Readers, 224 pp., $16.99. Twelve-year-old Robyn Goodfellow’s roof is cursed. Everything lands on her house: kites, paper airplanes, Frisbees—even a passing skydiver. But now Robyn might be in real danger: one of NASA’s satellites is falling out of orbit and will hit Earth. NASA projections say the satellite will fall harmlessly into the ocean, but Robyn isn’t convinced. If she has just weeks to live, Robyn wants to take care of some unfinished business—like finding her long-lost dad. Ages 8-12.
Read more here.
Booklist Online, November 2, 2018
What Goes Up.
Robyn Tinkerbell Goodfellow always knew her middle name came from a fairy, but it’s not until she reads
A Midsummer Night’s Dream that she realizes her whole name is fae. Not that she’s that surprised; her
single mom, who wears fairy wings to host children’s birthday parties, is a bit fairy obsessed. Still, it’s not
Robyn’s favorite thing, especially since she’s convinced that a NASA satellite, which has fallen out of
orbit and is headed for earth, is going to land on her house, and then everyone in the world will be
laughing at her stupid name. Far-fetched, maybe, but the funny thing is that everything seems to land on
Robyn’s roof, from neighborhood toys and lost cats to skydivers. What’s a girl to do but track down her
long-lost father—her albino genes are a pretty good lead, since there’s an albino family living one town
over—and get him to change her name before she’s squashed? Baragrey balances the more serious aspects
with whimsy and wit. A family-oriented tale with plenty of quirk.
— Maggie Reagan
School Library Journal, September 2018 Issue:
What Goes Up
Gr 4-6–Robyn is afraid for her life. She’s just learned that a NASA satellite will be crashing to the earth in a few weeks. NASA says it could hit anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere and probably not even on land, but Robyn knows it’s going to land right on the roof of her house. That’s because Robyn’s house has a magnet roof and everything lands there. Parachuters, frisbees, kites, cats, and more have turned up on Robyn’s roof! She has to hurry and find out who her real father is so that she can get him to help her find a new place to stay until the satellite lands or sign a form to help her change her name to something not so fairyish. The last thing she wants on her gravestone is Robyn Tinkerbell Goodfellow! Robyn enlists her best friend in one caper after another in order to get to her goal. Robyn’s growth in the story is natural and her resolutions to her problems are thoughtful. VERDICT A quirky, fun story set in a town filled with unique and amusing characters. Recommended to fans of Carl Hiaasen.–Terry Ann Lawler, Burton Barr Library, Phoenix
"Robyn’s anxieties and determination resound through her humorous first-person narration. A cast of very zany local characters and a tension-filled plot driven by the approaching satellite enhance Robyn’s quest to uncover her real identity." -- Kirkus reviews. Read more here.
"Funny, charming, slightly kooky, and absolutely brimming with heart. I loved these characters and their odd, small-town lives." --Stefan Bachmann, internationally bestselling author of The Peculiar.
"With warmth and whimsy, What Goes Up explores the security of friendship, the permanence of family, and the comfort that comes from learning the place where you belong." -- Caroline Starr Rose, author of May B.
"What Goes Up is filled with humor, wit, and warmth. I loved it!" --Juliana Stone, author of Boys Like You.
