Some Friendships Are Meant to Be

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

Hello, Readers! 

This week 5th grade book club kids are discussing Hello, Universe by 2018 Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly. Told from intertwining points of view (two boys and two girls), Hello, Universe is  a funny and poignant neighborhood story about unexpected friendships. The novel celebrates bravery, being different, and finding your inner bayani (hero). 

In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so that he can concentrate on basketball.

They aren’t friends, at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find the missing Virgil. Sometimes four can do what one cannot. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms.

Source: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062414151/hello-universe

Possible Discussion Questions:

1. What is Virgil like as a person? When he describes the rest of his family, he says he feels “like unbuttered toast standing next to them” (p. 4). What does he mean by that simile? How does he think he compares to his brothers? How does his experience in the well affect him? 
2. How does Lola’s arrival help Virgil? What is she like, and what’s her role in the family? Describe Lola’s exchange with Valencia. What do Valencia and Kaori think of her?
3. In more than one instance, Virgil wishes he could act as the “Alternate Virgil” (p. 39). How would he change himself if he could? How does the book’s title relate to Virgil’s hopes about changing? What changes does he actually make by the end of the book?
4. Describe Valencia’s personality and her interests. What is her nightmare, and why can’t she ask her mother for help? How do people, including her parents, treat her differently because she’s deaf? Give specific examples.
5. Valencia explains that she prays to Saint Rene. Who is he and why does she pray to him? In the well, Virgil talks to Ruby San Salvador. Who is she and how is she helpful to him? What does this tell you about Valencia and Virgil and how they are alike? What else do they have in common?
6. Discuss Chet’s character and how he treats other kids. Why do you think he’s so unkind? What messages does he get from his father? How do you think those affect his actions?
7. Kaori likes to tell people that “her parents were born in the high, misty mountains of a samurai village” (p. 26). What does this reveal about her character? Describe her interest in psychic matters and how that interest is important to the novel’s plot. Talk about her relationship to Gen, how they interact, and how their personalities compare.
8. Talk about the main characters’ names and nicknames in the novel. Why does Valencia call herself Renee? Discuss Kaori’s observation that Valencia seems proud of her real name, and the fact that “Kaori was fond of her name as well”  (p. 265). What does Lola say about Valencia’s name? How does Virgil feel about his name and nickname? How does Chet’s last name lead to a nickname and relate to his character?
9. Identify the different points of view that the author uses throughout the novel. How do the points of view differ by chapter? Why do you think the author chose to focus different chapters on different characters and use different points of view?
10. The author uses similes and metaphors to create a vivid narrative. For example, Virgil’s crying is compared to a faucet, starting on p. 243 and picking up again on p. 245. Discuss the effect of the metaphor and why the author extends it. On p. 244, Virgil thinks of his family as speaking “in exclamation points.” What images does that create in your mind? Find other figures of speech and discuss their impact on the reader. 

Curriculum Connections:

• Life Skills (problem solving, communication, dealing with bullying, intergenerational relationships)
• Science (animals, snakes,)
• Disabilities (deafness)
• Writing (multiple points of view, text structure, narrative elements)

What 5th Grade Book Club Members Thought:

• Our rating: 4.1 out of 5.0
• "Why did Virgil's parents not care so much for Virgil?" --Vibha
• "My favorite part was Virgil got saved." --Aditi
• "My favorite part was when Ruby San Salvador convinced Virgil into getting brave." --Alex
• "My favorite part was when Virgil was saved from the well." --Vibha
• "One question I wondered was why is Chet so unkind?" --Alex
• "My favorite part was when they found Virgil." --Alexa

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