Libby, 12, has Turner syndrome, which makes nonverbal learning difficult and causes some health problems. She struggles to make friends, but her parents are supportive and loving, and her older, marred sister Nonny is her trusted confidante. When pregnant Nonny moves home while her husband is away for a job, Libby is thrilled. She can't wait to be an aunt. But what if the baby has Turner syndrome, too? At school, Libby's wonderful history teacher, Ms. Trepky, assigns a research project on someone not in their textbook. Ms. Trepky also tells Libby about a Smithsonian competition in which contestants must complete an education project about an underappreciated woman in STEM. Libby chooses astronomer Cecilia Payne for the assignment and the contest. She not only admires Cecilia, she often has imagined conversations with her. Libby's contest plan is to lobby for Cecilia's inclusion in the next edition of her textbook. She also makes a deal with Cecilia in her head: If she succeeds, Cecilia will keep Nonny's unborn baby healthy. As she embarks on the project, Libby also makes her first good friend in Samoan American Talia, a new student who shares Libby's frustration with a class bully. Libbys' worries, her determination, her disappointments when determination isn't enough, and her magical thinking around Cecilia Payne and Nonny's baby are all appealing elements of this story featuring an extremely likable protagonist and well-drawn secondary characters. Author Allen, like her protagonist, has Turner syndrome. (Ages 9-12)

A Mighty Girl Best Book of 2020!

From debut author Sarah Allen comes a pitch-perfect, heartwarming middle grade novel about growing up, finding yourself, and loving people with everything you’re made of.

Twelve-year-old Libby Monroe is great at science, being optimistic, and talking to her famous, accomplished friends (okay, maybe that last one is only in her head). She’s not great at playing piano, sitting still, or figuring out how to say the right thing at the right time in real life. Libby was born with Turner Syndrome, and that makes some things hard. But she has lots of people who love her, and that makes her pretty lucky.

When her big sister Nonny tells her she’s pregnant, Libby is thrilled—but worried. Nonny and her husband are in a financial black hole, and Libby knows that babies aren’t always born healthy. So she strikes a deal with the universe: She’ll enter a contest with a project about Cecilia Payne, the first person to discover what stars are made of. If she wins the grand prize and gives all that money to Nonny’s family, then the baby will be perfect. Does she have what it takes to care for the sister that has always cared for her? And what will it take for the universe to notice?