what goes up
Coming from Random House Children's, 30th October 2018)
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Reviews:
"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.
About What Goes Up
What goes up . . . comes down on Robyn Tinkerbell Goodfellow's roof! Will a rogue NASA satellite crush her house before Robyn can set things right?
Robyn Tinkerbell Goodfellow (yes, that's actually her name) has a target on her roof. Well, not a real one, but everything seems to land there: paper airplanes, lost kites, socks, cats, and once even a skydiver! In the town of Calliope, Robyn and her magnet roof are famous--for being weird. That wasn't such a big deal . . . until now!
A rogue NASA satellite is falling out of orbit and is going to hit Earth. NASA says it will probably land in the ocean, but Robyn knows better--that satellite is headed for her roof. To make matters worse, Robyn discovers that she doesn't just have a fairy middle name. When her class reads A Midsummer Night's Dream, she learns that Robin Goodfellow is a fairy! Which means if the satellite flattens her, everyone will laugh at her name in the news stories. Robyn realizes what she needs to do: find her long-lost dad so he can help her change her name and protect her from the satellite!
Both surprising and relatable, this middle-grade novel will have readers wishing they could move to the small town of Calliope, laugh with the larger-than-life characters, and race against the clock to save Robyn from NASA's mistake.
Excerpt:
"Crouching down, Grandma hurried across the lawn and waved for me to follow. For a second, I thought she was going to do a Ninja-Su roll behind a bush, but she didn't stop until she reached the fence. I got there a few seconds later, dragging the super-long hose behind me. Grinning, Grandma took it from me, wiped off the nozzle on the end, and twisted it to the setting she wanted. Snorting a little from keeping her giggles quiet, she found a knot-hole in the wood the right size and poked the nozzle through.
“Grandma, are you sure this is—”
She put her grubby finger on my lips. “Trust me, little accomplice.”
Once it was all set up, we sat together on the back step in the late afternoon sunshine.
“Shouldn't you be inside getting ready for the next party?” I asked, hoping the reminder would send her inside in a panic and far away from Mrs. Cuthbert.
“It's all ready.”
I slapped at the little flying bugs that tickled my ankles. Trust Grandma to pick today to get organized.
Mrs. Cuthbert's back door slammed. Her muttering and cussing were loud enough to hear, even over the birds squabbling for spots in the shadiest trees.
The smile on Grandma's face made my stomach knot up from nerves. With one hand over her mouth to hold in the chuckles, she tiptoed down the steps to the tap. She counted down from ten, marking off the numbers with her index finger in the air before screwing the tap round a dozen times as fast as she could.
All I could do was watch in horror as Grandma's plan came together."