Superstar

Gr 4–6—Lester loves two things: science and homeschooled life with his devoted mother. So it's a shock when Mom announces that Lester will be attending fifth grade in public school because she is going back to work full-time. The pair have been especially close since the tragic, mission-related death of Lester's astronaut father five years earlier; unresolved grief still haunts the family. Lester's behaviors make his transition to public school a challenge (he later discovers he has autism), but caring staff and a kindhearted classmate, Abby, offer support. Then the annual science fair gives Lester both a way to fit in and an opportunity he's been longing for: a chance to study space and flying, taboo subjects at home. Emphasizing characterization over action, the first-person narrative helps readers understand the social difficulties experienced by a child on the autism spectrum. In Lester and his mother, debut author Davis creates genuine, emotionally engaging characters who, over the course of the novel, grow and move toward heartfelt triumphs. While Lester's mother is aware of his behavioral issues, it is not clear whether she sought services for him before he received a diagnosis and IEP from his new school. This may lead to comparisons with Lynda Mullaly Hunt's Fish in a Tree, but Ally's and Lester's home lives are quite different. The book also overlooks Davis's larger story of a family recovering from devastating loss.