Middle Grade Book Review: What Goes Up by Wen Jane Baragrey

“Glowing stars covered every space on the walls and ceiling. Dozens of them, like small colorful galaxies. The most amazing thing hung right in the middle of the ceiling.

A large white paper moon, glowing brighter than all the stars, real and pretend.

Mom wrapped her arms around me. “You were worried about the satellite, so I thought I’d remind you how beautiful the universe is.”

~ Wen Jane Baragrey, What Goes Up

"What Goes Up" is Cute and Cosmic Fun

Twelve-year-old Robyn Goodfellow is known for many things.

• Her albinism 
• Her fairy obsessed mom 
• Her brainy red-haired best friend Nickel
• And most of all, living in a house with a magnetic-roof that attracts all kinds of trouble.

In her already strange small town, Calliope, fast-talking sixth-grader Robyn is certain of one thing. Calamity is going to strike. When newscasters report one of NASA’s satellites is racing down to earth all of Calliope, a speck on the map as it is buzzes with gossip about the impending doom. 

Robyn can’t help but panic. She's certain it’s going to crash down on her ill-fated house. All before she can work out her mom’s best-kept secret: who her dad is. 

While on a class field trip to Calliope’s rival town, Densdale, she discovers the O’Malley clan. Dozens of men, women, and children who share something very specific with Robyn--their albinism. Convinced that her dad is an O’Malley, Robyn recruits her best friend (and future husband) Nickel Budgen with all his sneaky spy skills (and access to his dad’s police database) to help her race against the clock and find her dad for once and for all. 

 ★             ★            ★ 

The pressure is on when just days after the rogue satellite report, Robyn discovers her mom named her after a famous literary fairy. A fairy from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream named Robin Goodfellow... who also goes by the nickname Puck. As in Hockey Puck. *cringe* As Robyn's rotten luck would have it A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the latest drama unit in her English class. 

As if being the laughingstock of sixth-grade and named after two fictional fairies isn’t bad enough (who has Tinkerbell for a middle name anyway!?) if the satellite does squash her dead, the whole world will know about her ridiculous name! 

Forget terrified, Robyn is mortified. Maybe, just maybe, if she can track down her dad before the month is over he can both change her name and let her stay in his house safely away from the satellite’s warpath. 

Told in Robyn’s bold, hilarious and sometimes self-deprecating voice What Goes Up takes us on Robyn’s journey to find the other half of who she is before the month is over. Fueled by her overactive imagination and insatiable curiosity Robyn boldly embarks on an adventure that takes her and Nickel all around Calliope and Densdale to find the father her mom will not talk about. A man who only left behind a careworn valentine signed B. 

  
What Goes Up’s kooky characters appeal to readers of all walks of life. Relatable protagonist Robyn sasses sixth-grade bullies (like the icky Dameon Swenson), believes in herself and has oodles of heart, charm, and nerve that makes her a magnetic and instantly loveable lead. We empathize with her desperate need to find her father before it's too late. And we’re gripped by her ever-mounting anxiety as the days tick by and the satellite gets closer and closer to earth. 

The other characters are just as charming as Robyn. Take Robyn’s flaky fairy fanatic mom. She runs around in frilly tutus, sparkly wings, and body glitter, and is passionate about making and finding magic in everyday life. Then there’s Robyn’s sly Grandma whose frequent battle of wills with their busybody, perpetually nosy next-door neighbor Mrs. Cuthbert, makes for some of the most laugh out loud moments in a middle-grade book I’ve read this year. 

With that, descriptions galore color the pages of What Goes Up. Especially the ones about Robyn’s house, the tricky and troublesome magnetic roof, and her mom’s party room. Renowned for hosting fairy parties for toddlers in her Enchanted Forest (the family living room that she converted into a whimsical wonderland full of Pinterest-ready Papier-Mâché critters, toadstools, and trees) it’s easy for us to see she’s too enraptured by her make-believe world to really fret about the incoming disaster. It makes for a compelling conversation starter about mothers and daughters, and creative type unusual parents for young and tween readers. 

★    ★    ★

In What Goes Up Robyn’s universe is lovingly crafted with immersive details, stand out characters, amusing dialogue, and lively pacing. Taking themes of belonging, identity, and family and spicing them up with a cosmic kick Baragrey’s debut sets her on the map as a rising star to watch out for in middle grade lit. With its tension-driven rogue satellite plot and determined and witty young lead’s first-person narration What Goes Up is a brilliantly funny and heartfelt take on embracing unconventional families and the power of friendship. Perfect for readers as young as 8 to as old as 108! 

Recommended.