Is mild sci-fi the key to student engagement?

Review of Newbery Winner THE FIRST STATE OF BEING

I must start with a disclaimer: I. enjoyed. this. book… and I love Erin Entrada Kelly.

As educators, we are told to give four compliments for every critique, but I do not have the word count and you do not have the time for that. I hope all critiques are communicated with the respect this novel deserves.

The First State of Being is our most recent Newbery Medal winner. In 1999 Delaware, a time traveler comes to visit the past but does not know how to get back.

Genre: Mild Sci-Fi

The fact that this story is set in 1999 and the main character is NOT the time traveler is a very refreshing and unique take on the genre. As an avid reader of sci-fi/fantasy, I found the grounded feel extremely interesting. The Main Character, Michael, is terrified of the future, so letting him interact with someone from the future allowed Entrada Kelly to do some awesome exploration of the theme. I also enjoyed the time traveler being more of a tourist than an “I’m-here-to-save-the-world” type. Doing so allowed the plot to stay focused, which brings me to my first critique.

A lot of time, especially in the later part of the story, is spent in the future, and those parts always dragged for me. At the beginning, these escapes gave the time traveler validity and gave insight into his worldview. Towards the end, where the main focus is getting him home, it just reads like a bunch of unproductive arguing. The bigger tragedy comes from these chapters taking away from Gibby, who was the most underdeveloped character in the story when you take into account her importance.

All in all, Entrada Kelly uses the sci-fi genre like cinnamon. Sometimes it is the main event; other times it brings the best out of other flavors. The First State of Being uses sci-fi to tell a heartwarming and somehow nostalgic story. The light elements also make this one of the most approachable sci-fi stories for all readers.

Nostalgia

The ’90s may be the best era for “historical fiction” (that makes me want to gag a little) for today’s kids. DVDs, malls, phones with cords. Children today have no idea how quickly technology changed in such a short amount of time. And even so, I am a ’90s kid. This book loved the ’90s too much.

We’re really supposed to believe someone from 2199 is most interested in the ’90s? Even 30 years later, the 90’s are skipped over as a relatively bland decade.

Because change doesn’t happen suddenly. Although the years 1999 and 2000 look significantly different, the only real change between each is the same as any change between yesterday, today, and tomorrow. There is a significant lesson in that which is great for every student to learn: sometimes we play things up larger in our heads than how they actually play out.

There was absolutely nothing remarkable happening in Delaware in 1999. Erin Entrada Kelly WANTS you to realize that. She wants you to see the potential that even the unremarkable has. BUT, that same concept shoots her in the foot when she is trying to show why the time traveler showed up. Other than ’90s nostalgia (NOSTALGIA THAT CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE), there is no reason for him to be there. The reliance on ’90s pop culture creates a massive gap in student schema. Unless you are prepared to scaffold the reading with a history lesson on Y2K and dial-up internet, many of the references will go right over students’ heads, leading to disengagement.

It doesn’t work for me, and even worse, I don’t think it works for children. They won’t understand the references without an adult explaining them. While the plot mechanics regarding time travel stumbled, the book found stronger footing in its emotional themes.

A Letter to the Anxious Generation

To be completely honest, this book feels like it won a Newbery because it is a beautiful letter from adults to the “Anxious Generation.” Adults love the ’90s, and even more, they love how Entrada Kelly approaches anxiety.

And they should. The best moments of this story were the moments when Michael had to face his anxiety. From start to finish, his character traits and motivation were expertly approached. The moments were almost too good, for when I read them, I realized that those words were really what Entrada Kelly had to say, but then she had to wrap it up in a book. I’ve seen others describe the whole character ensemble as “masterful,” and I’m not sure about the entire cast, but Michael’s certainly is. Some might use this novel as a goldmine for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) discussions, but the depth is too strong for shorter lessons.

The First State of Being includes subtle representation that blends well with the themes of progress in this novel. Change happens so slowly that you hardly notice. Things that may be controversial in 2025 are just a fact of life in 2199. I honestly loved this approach, but teachers beware: how much controversy you want in your career is your choice. Certain parents will have issues with one of the characters in this book.

I also admired the representation of what I’ll call “everyday” injustices. Those living in poverty are not only subjected to poorer living conditions, lackluster education, more danger, less free time, and less mobility. They are also subjected to circumstances—injustices—as simple as having an ignorant/insecure boss that can fire you without cause. Poverty is lacking the resources to fight for yourself, so you have to go out of your way to control other things. This lack of control gives you anxiety. Fear.

The emotional beats are subtle but go a long way. Unfortunately, that subtlety makes this book feel more slice-of-life than we are used to seeing from Newbery winners. It also makes the emotional beats just not hit as hard as they should. Spoiler territory: there is a sudden death in the novel. I think thematically the death had to be sudden, almost random feeling for Michael, but doing that made the death lose all of its emotional impact. Even in death, there is a moment that tries to break the cycle of poverty, but without proper buildup to this event, it is flat. The moment gives a plot resolution without much of an emotional one.

This book just falls off hard at the end. To raise the stakes for the time traveler, he overstayed his welcome. New Year’s Eve of Y2K would’ve felt like a proper climax, but this reflects the issue of the whole plot: seeing Y2K resolve goes against the heart of the story. You HAVE to leave Michael with the opportunity to face his anxiety rather than realizing he was worried about nothing. It once again shoots itself in the foot.

In conclusion, this book does a lot of things well, but in its attempt to balance itself, nothing stands out. Just as this book is a mild sci-fi adventure, every element is mostly mild. For theme, this works extremely well; for everything else, it doesn’t.

That’s why this book simply doesn’t fall into my “Must-Reads.” For the purposes of teaching, there isn’t enough to differentiate or define it. If I wanted to teach character traits, I would use Hello, Universe by Entrada Kelly. If I wanted theme, I’d use The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Even the PAST/FUTURE structure for Cause & Effect is more concrete in a book like Holes. And without an adult guiding a child through this book, I think all those problems become even more apparent.

Thank you for reading. I will review every Newbery Medal winner from the last 10 years.