It’s easy to see why Hello, Universe won the Newbery this year. The kids in this story are quirky, delightfully complex, and easy to believe in and sympathize with. Even Chet, the stereotypical bully, is not nearly so stereotypical as he first appears.

Don’t get me wrong. He’s still a bully, and as such, largely unlike-able. But he has a couple of good points, and you can kind of get where he’s coming from. He could use a few good friends.

It’s a pity he’s not willing to consider Virgil, Valencia or Kaori as possible friends, because these three, as mentioned above, are wonderful characters, each strong in her or his own right. They’re the kind of kids I wish I’d known when I was that awkward age between sixth and seventh grade. Or perhaps I did know kids like this, but was too wrapped up in my own misery to recognize them.

These three, though, manage to look a bit beyond their own borders and make the most of the gifts the universe brings them–the stories, the experiences and the the others that cross their paths. They grow as people in this short story, and it’s easy to believe that they’ll have what they need to face their tomorrows.