A middle-grade novel blending two perspectives and a STEM setting while it explores themes of belonging, identity, friendship, and teamwork.
Eighth-grader Evelyn has her eyes set on winning the robotics championship with her school team. She’s thrown herself into being Team Leader not only because she loves solving problems (defying many adults’ assumptions about autistic people), but also because she hopes a win can help her get into a STEM-focused high school, leading to college scholarships and the ability to take care of her financially struggling moms. Her best friend and fellow enthusiastic roboticist, however, has moved away with her family, leaving only the team members Evelyn perceives as not having much to offer. All of the pressure has made her short-tempered, which could cost her her role as leader.
Allie, in contrast, is a newcomer to the school, starting there after the death of her parents led to her moving in with her grandmother. She’s been getting into trouble constantly, though, lashing out in a rage she doesn’t understand. The principal offers her a last chance to prove herself, in the robotics classroom. Allie, good in art but poor in science and math, goes reluctantly. For Evelyn’s part, another non-enthusiastic teammate is the last thing she wants.
A lack of funding and interest then jeopardizes the robotics team’s very existence. Evelyn and Allie must learn from each other if they want to save it. They slowly build a friendship—but will this be enough? Mohrweis keeps the suspense going and throws in some unexpected twists.
Queer representation is plentiful, not only with Evelyn’s moms. Evelyn herself is bisexual (adding to the number of kids’ books with queer children of queer parents), and two secondary boy characters are dating each other. (One is bullied by some other students, but Mohrweis handles this thoughtfully.). Additionally, Allie comes to realize that she is asexual and/or aromantic. There’s also an in-passing reference to someone who uses they/them pronouns.
Other diversity is evident, too. While both Evelyn and Allie are White, other members of the robotics team have a variety of racial/ethnic identities. One secondary character has cerebral palsy; another wears hearing aids. Author Michelle Mohrweis, who is autistic themselves, treats the autistic and disabled characters by seamlessly focusing on their strengths, not their limitations, although they weave in glimpses of what it is like for these characters to move in the world.
I loved the alternating of the two girls’ perspectives and their very different reasons for being on the team. Both Allie and Evelyn are likeable but flawed in ways that makes them sympathetic, and the secondary characters are engaging and well-drawn. Mohrweis, a real STEM educator, weaves in enough about robotics, gender bias in STEM, and other STEM tidbits to make the story believable (and perhaps intriguing to potential STEM students) without weighing it down. It’s a character-driven story that authentically celebrates STEM without reading like a textbook. A recommended read, and another middle-grade novel that I’d love to see made into a movie or TV show.
