Gr 3–7—Kemi loves probability, but when she learns an asteroid has an 84.7 percent chance of crashing into Earth
in four days, she is determined to create a family time capsule. With a heartrending surprise twist, Everett
masterfully, and realistically, explores grief

This novel is a 2024 Lone Star selection.

An asteroid will hit the world in four days. We follow Kemi as she goes through these last days. Having perfect attendance, Kemi wants to continue with school, but her mom says that she needs to be home. It'll be safer. Her best friend, however, attends school and tells Kemi what's going on. Kemi decides that she wants the future world to know about her family so that they won't be forgotten. She assembles a time capsule, asking each member of the family to contribute something. Each day counts down. Kemi overhears conversations and lets details drop that you may miss, leaving you very surprised later on in the novel.

Spoilers WILL FOLLOW so quit reading if you don't want the plot revealed.

I didn't care for this novel at all. The pacing slowly brought the end of the world closer. I kept thinking, "Please, asteroid, hit the earth and end my misery!" The author's goal is to trick the reader. It's the end of Kemi's world. It's also a novel about hate. White people who hate black people. The end of the world is the funeral of her father. I love to be surprised and I love good writing. This novel didn't make the cut for me, personally. The "reveal" felt more like a trick than a well-written plot-twist. I felt like the author was sneaking in a book about race hatred. I don't disagree that people will result to violence because of their misinformed prejudices, but this idea is barely touched upon. Yes, we see how grief affects Kemi and her family, but I would care more if the story had spent more time on the meaning instead of on the trick. ( )

If Sarah Everett were not Canadian, this would be my Newbery pick. ( )

Wow! This was kind of amazing. I loved the main character, Kemi. I would have loved this book at ages 9-12.

I have to say one thing though: if the book appeals to you, please add it to your to read list and then wait a long time to read it and don’t read any reviews anywhere near to the time you read it until after you’ve finished the book.

I read one review and added it and almost immediately started reading it. I didn’t think the review had any spoilers but there was this one line in it. Just a single sentence. If I’d waited to read the book I wouldn’t have even remembered it. I did remember it though and it changed the way I read the book and that made the book slightly less enjoyable for me.

I loved this story and these characters, particularly Kemi, and I loved all the relationships. I loved the probability & statistics which is a branch of math that I actually enjoy. Kemi is whip smart and I enjoyed that about her character. The story is sweet, sad, amusing at times, and deeply poignant.

This is one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever had to write for a book. Everything I’m thinking of writing could be a spoiler. This HUGE SPOILER is for my benefit, for my memory, and for those who’ve already read the book. Any reader who might read the book in the future I think that you’ll regret it if you read this: The line that I realized was a spoiler only after I started reading the book was about the main character being an unreliable narrator. All the way through the book I figured there was really something else going on and I was constantly thinking about what it might be. There were hints of this within the story but I’m not sure I’d have caught those hints until far into the book. For most of the book I probably would have read it at face value, being reminded of the book [book:Life As We Knew It|213753]. In fact, this is a story about racism, gun violence, Black Lives Matter, and loss and grief. I think it’s done brilliantly! Even though I knew something was happening that was being left unsaid, I did not guess exactly what it was until it was revealed 3/4-4/5 the way through the story. I sobbed.

Highly recommended for 9-11 year old girls and anyone who enjoys good children’s novels.

4-1/2 stars ( )

Eleven-year-old Kemi Carter loves science and math, and she turns to science and math concepts to comfort her when she learns that an asteroid is headed for earth. Kemi's loving extended family surrounds her, even as they, too, struggle with facing the end of the world, and cope in different ways, all together in Kemi's aunt's house. Kemi decides to create a time capsule to preserve the most important things, and she gathers items from everyone in her family, but her dad can't come up with the one thing that represents what he loves best.

*Spoiler alert*

About three quarters of the way through the book, a giant twist is revealed: the "end of the world" isn't an asteroid that's going to obliterate humanity, but to Kemi, it feels that way: the countdown of days and hours that has served as the book's structure is actually a countdown to her dad's funeral. Mr. Carter was shot in the family's home by a neighbor/intruder who claimed to think it was his house, but had a year-long history of aggression toward the Carter family, who are Black and recently moved into a mostly-white neighborhood.

Newbery contender 2024?

Back matter includes resources for victims of hate crimes, and anti-racism resources.

Quotes

My favorite type of science is the science of probability. Probability is pretty great because it tells you how likely something is to happen or not happen. It is a way of predicting the world. (2)

...Grandma put her love into things she made....It was almost like she thought love should be useful. (35)

But there had to be a way to make everyone feel less afraid of the end of the world. (37)

I liked the idea of things that lasted longer than the people who made them. (90)

Something didn't stop belonging to you just because you shared it with other people. (91)

"You can feel two things at once, you know," Dad continued. "You can feel brave but afraid. You can feel happy but sad." (127)

"I think you are made up of all the people and things you love." (128)

Dad always said that sometimes when people feel scared, they get angry. (146)

Since then, I started to think of the probability of everything, the different possibilities and then how likely they were to happen, and it always helped me feel less afraid. (167-168)

The fact that everyone I loved had woken up today didn't mean that they would wake up tomorrow....
Statistics told us what could or would probably happen in life but they never told us what definitely would. (188)

The end of something - even a human, even a planet - is just a change. (220)

"I will always be with you." He pats my chest. "In here."
"I want you out here!" I say, gesturing around the room. "...I want you here. In my heart is not good enough." (289)

"You're strong. And you're brave. And I know you'll miss me, but your life isn't over. It's not the end of the world." (292) ( )