{"product_id":"the-secret-astronomers-isbn-9780593692677","title":"The Secret Astronomers","description":"\u003cb\u003eTwo strangers. One forgotten astronomy textbook. A decades-old secret.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fascinating, highly illustrated, epistolary novel perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell and Alice Oseman, featuring designed doodled edges!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen a recent transfer student starts keeping her diary in the oldest textbook at the Green Bank High School library, the last thing she expects is to receive a response. Thus begins a sweeping tale of unlikely friendship and long-buried secrets between two secret pen pals at a rural West Virginia high school.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCopernicus is adrift and searching for answers after the sudden death of her mother, and leaving her cosmopolitan life in San Francisco behind. Kepler is a small-town girl with straight A's and big plans to be the first person in her family to go to college, despite her family's modest means. The two girls are so different from one another but united in their goal to solve a mystery that has riddled Green Bank for decades.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMeticulously hand-drawn by debut author Jessica Walker across the pages of an actual ancient astrophysics textbook, \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Astronomers \u003c\/i\u003eis a story of friendship, family, crop circles, secret crushes, giant telescopes, life in Appalachia, and two girls discovering new ways to connect across any divide that separates them.\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Astronomers\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Some books map bold new territory in form, at the expense of story. Some trod well-worn paths to tell an excellent story. It's the rare book that sails into uncharted waters of form to also tell a brilliant story, and this is one. This is a compelling, stirring, rural Appalachian coming-of-age tale worthy to stand with the finest.”\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eJeff Zentner, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eIn the Wild Light \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e*\u003c\/b\u003e\"A wholly original novel that celebrates connection in unlikely places.\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*\u003c\/b\u003e\"This epistolary tale is a complete joy not only to read but also to behold. Walker, the director of illustration at the Parsons School of Design, masterfully pulls off the notion of an old textbook full of notes left between two students, full of lively artwork and photographs. Readers will whiz through this clandestine correspondence and perhaps be spurred to start their own.\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Has a sense of stillness in the reading experience that is rare in YA.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBooklist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Elaborate full-color collages and artwork, as well as handwritten text scrawled on sticky notes and scratch-paper that covers the primer, make this a visually distinctive book you might have to see to fully appreciate.\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In this intriguing epistolary novel, Walker (Baby Feminists) employs multimedia formatting to chronicle the anonymous, pen pal–adjacent friendship between two high school seniors in 2016 rural Green Bank, W.Va. . . . [A] conceptually innovative solo debut.\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A tale told through notes, with gorgeous drawings and town secrets, that keeps readers wanting more… Readers will be entranced by the lush and creative hand-drawn illustrations and collages, as well as the mystery elements . . . A heartwarming tale about connection, grief, and challenging assumptions.”\u003cb\u003e —\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This illustrated novel is stylistically compelling… [the girls’] distinct voices, witty banter, and deep emotions . . . make this an effective and moving character study.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"A triumph of storytelling and design\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLitHub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eJessica Walker\u003c\/b\u003e is a multidisciplinary artist, illustrator, filmmaker, and educator. She is an assistant professor of fine arts at Parsons and has exhibited films, books, and 2D media in solo and group shows in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Australia. Her work is housed in the permanent collections at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Research Library, Yale University Haas Family Arts Library, and the University of Washington Art Library. She is also the illustrator of \u003ci\u003eBaby Feminists\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBaby Feminists Too\u003c\/i\u003e.Find the oldest book in the Green Bank High School Library.\u003cbr\u003eHidden inside are the secrets that are being left behind forever. If you're smart enough to figure out the message, then you have a right to know why a small town in the-middle-of-nowhere West Virginia is the center of intelligent life in the known universe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAugust 15, 2016\u003cbr\u003eI found your note, and this is definitely the oldest book in the Green Bank High School Library, but there is no trace of your secrets that I can find. The only thing worth finding in this library is a stack of old magazines that are up for grabs. Making strange collages out of \"National Geographic\"s from the '80s is the only way to get through this boring-ass study hall. That and writing to you, I guess. Why would you be so cryptic with hiding notes and keeping secrets in old library books? I guess this is how you entertained yourself when you were bored? You were always a little different, so that would make sense. I miss you. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAugust 22, 2016\u003cbr\u003edon't you think that your mother has sad eyes? She took me to a yard \"sail\" yesterday (I kid you not, that's how \"sale\" was spelled on the sign). She couldn't hit the brakes fast enough when she saw that people were selling piles of random crap on their lawn. I did manage to score a mini Polaroid camera for five bucks. It's the kind that instantly prints pics. YOur mom says they don't \"sail\" the film anymore, but I guess she hasn't heard there's a retro resurgence. Anyway, I need this camera because there are plenty of incredible photo ops in West Virginia that deserve an artistic lens. My first project is to capture all the misspelled signs. I know you'd laugh with me if you could be here to see them all. I still don't know why I'm writing to you like this. I know you're not here, but it just feels like you are sometimes, especially when stuff is funny and I need someone to laugh with. I haven't laughed with anyone in a long time. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAugust 24, 2016\u003cbr\u003eHEre are a few highlights from Green Bank High School--I'm sure plenty has changed since you were last here . . . Did you know that one can enroll in a masonry class? That's right. Learning to lay bricks is just the tip of the intellectual iceberg. Also, there's a poster hanging in the hallway to educate us about all the poor defenseless animals that residents are invited to hunt (aka kill) year-round in Pocahontas County. They include skunks, opossums, woodchucks, weasels, and English sparrows. Why would anyone need to kill an English sparrow? It just seems cruel. And . . . there's a pepe rally for the football team every Friday. We don't have to go back to class after lunch on Fridays because the rest of the afternoon is devoted to pepping and rallying. It's OK though, there's nothing particularly educational happening at the other times of day, either, so it doesn't seem lik emuch is lost. I really do hate it here.","brand":"Viking Books for Young Readers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233740108005,"sku":"NP9780593692677","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593692677.jpg?v=1767741392","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-secret-astronomers-isbn-9780593692677","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}