Book Review: Planet Earth Is Blue

Photo by Porapak Apichodilok

As an autistic person, I've been hesitant to read books with autistic characters. I've encountered misrepresentations more times than I can count, and I have yet to develop the thick skin necessary to sort the good from the bad.

But I knew there was good representation out there; I'm trying to write it, after all, in my middle-grade work in progress. When I finally read Planet Earth Is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos, I found the representation I was yearning to find.

Spoiler-Free Overview:

Nova is a young, non-speaking autistic girl with a love for space living in 1986. She and her older sister, Bridget, have been in the foster system together for quite some time, and Bridget has been Nova's sole provider of support.

One day, however, Nova finds herself with a new foster family—without Bridget.

Nova struggles to navigate her new environment and its too-familiar obstacles without her sister. Well-meaning adults make assumptions about her ability to read or understand others, and she has no means of correcting them. What is unfamiliar, however, is the kindness that her new foster family shows her.

Nova isn't too concerned about her new environment, however. She doubts she'll stay long. Bridget had taught her that there was no such thing as a forever family, not after all the rejections the two girls have faced. Besides, Bridget promised she'd be with Nova during the Challenger launch.

Although Nova trusts that Bridget will find her before the launch, she has trouble waiting. Does Bridget know where Nova is staying? Is she too far away to reach Nova in time?

Will she be upset if Nova starts to like her new foster family?

Representation

Disclaimer: While I am autistic, I am only occasionally non-speaking, so I can’t fully confirm the accuracy of this book’s representation.

I've always had to put a lot of effort into following along with neurotypical characters and their ways of thinking in fiction. It was refreshing to read a book with a character who thinks similarly to how I do.

Nova understands and interacts with others by remembering moments in the stories Bridget read to her when they were still together. When a boy at school tries to pull Nova into his game of pretend, Nova quotes Alice in Wonderland in her mind: Of all the silly nonsense!

A few chapters later, Nova begins understanding her friendships in this way, too:

"Just like the Little Prince and the Fox, now Nova and Mallory shared a secret."

I related to this way of thinking. When I was young, and even today, a lot of what I learned about interacting with others came from stories that I read or that others read to me. I'd look back at scenes that were similar to social situations I was experiencing in order to help me script my responses.

My experiences being non-speaking were also similar to those that Nova experienced. There were so many times that she would become excited and adults would assume she was upset. They would try to keep her still and stop her from squealing, something that many well-meaning people do to me while I'm non-speaking. Since I don't have the means to correct them, my joy is stifled.

Lastly, there are things that don't occur to Nova that may occur to neurotypicals. I've heard that many people found the plot of this book predictable, but I was shocked right along with Nova with each new revelation the plot had to offer. Sometimes what's obvious for some people is a surprise for others, especially for those who think differently than the majority.

Closing Thoughts

I loved this book. I felt every emotion along with Nova as the story progressed, and I wasn't surprised to learn that the author of this book is autistic herself.

I would recommend this book to anyone at a middle-grade reading level or higher, but those starting the book should be aware that there are deep themes of grief in this story. None of it seemed inappropriate for children, however, and Panteleakos did a good job of helping younger readers (and older readers) process their emotions along with Nova.