How I Became a Planet is a middle grade, realistic fiction novel by Nicole Melleby. The main character is Pluto, a 7th grader, who is on the verge of being sent away from her home on the Jersey Shore to live with her Dad in the city. The only way she can stay is if she shows progress from her diagnosed anxiety and depression by:
- completing summer school
- reconnecting with her ex-BFF
- doing what her mom asks
Only when Pluto meets Fallon, another person with her own to-do list, does Pluto get the support she needs to come to terms with her new normal.
This is a heavy topic, much like Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind, where the neurodiverse internal dialog takes center stage. I would add this book to my school library collection and have it for my home library for my middle grade daughter because Melleby's portrayal of Pluto and Fallon's relationship is a positive one for young people to see. Their romantic relationship organically grows out of their friendship with a supportive community to foster their identities. I hope that more middle grade writers incorporate characters who have complex mental illness needs, as well as more characters who have non-cis-gendered identities.
Here is an interview with Melleby to learn more about this book. Melleby has also written many other middle grade books, see below:
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