Michael Rosario doesn't understand why the adults around him aren't preparing for the Y2K crisis that is looming in a couple of months. He is secretly stockpiling canned food, filched from the local grocery store, under his bed. His mother works three jobs, and he has a crush on his 16 year old babysitter, Gibby. One day a strange teen-age boy shows up on the bench outside of his apartment building. Ridge is wearing strange clothing, and seems fascinated by pretty normal every-day things, like a microwave, or a CD player. Michael and Gibby discover he has traveled from the future, and he is both excited to learn about the 1990's and terrified about what his presence in the past will do to his world in the future. Ridge had a book with the general outline of events during the next ten years, and Michael is desperate to read it and discover if Y2K is going to be as bad as he fears. Can he betray his new friend and risk the future of the world to allay his own anxieties?
This is the Newbery book for this year. It is a well deserved award, and I think a lot of people, both kids and adults would enjoy reading this book. There is a lot in here about family and the importance of relationships. There is also a major theme about how to calm anxieties about the future. Kelly conveys the idea that, although bad things happen, in the end we will get through them, without monologuing or feeling preachy. Michael and Gibby are authentic and sympathetic characters, and even Ridge comes across as a normal kid in a complicated situation. The overall tone of the book is hopeful--a message kids really need right now. (272, 2024)
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