Vega's Piece of the Sky

by Jennifer Torres Narrated by Kyla García

Overview

A meteorite comes crashing down on the lives of three middle schoolers changing everything they know about family, friendships, and community in this charming and heartfelt novel with a light STEM touch.

The space rock is just the latest thing to land, uninvited, in Vega Lucero's road-stop*hometown. But when she discovers how much a chunk of the meteorite might be worth, she*realizes it's exactly the treasure she's been hoping to find-and maybe a way to convince her*mom not to sell the family store to big city developers to help pay for her grandpa Tata's medical expenses.*

Determined to find more pieces of the sky somewhere in the perilous desert wilderness, stubbornly independent Vega must set*aside her distrust of outsiders to team up with Jasper, a would-be rival-and her own tagalong*cousin Mila-on an overnight adventure to find more meteorites before the professional hunters*who have descended on Date City do. But along the way, she realizes that she's not the only one with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Jasper and Mila have secrets and worries of their own that has brought them on this journey.

Together, this ragtag group will battle against coyotes, a flood, and scorpions. But what they will ultimately discover is that no treasure is big enough*to prevent unwelcome change. Only family and friends can help weather the unexpected that life brings.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Captivating...very entertaining."—Booklist

"The fast-paced read is a classic summer coming-of-age story with plenty of adventure and heart. As in all good quests, the story’s true treasures are the relationships formed along the way."—Kirkus Reviews

"Here readers find well-developed characters with distinct voices and a tightly paced, fast-moving plot that harmoniously blend into a heartwarming, energetic novel."—School Library Journal

Praise for Stef Soto, Taco Queen:

"The core of the story—friendship and the importance of family—wins out, leaving tweens with a satisfying, gentle read." —School Library Journal

"[A] well written novel about family and pride and would be a great addition to the library." —School Library Connection

"[An] engaging glimpse of food-truck culture through the Soto family's sacrifices, values, and hardships. Once readers get past the drama, they'll cheer for Stef Soto, her family, and Tia Perla." —Kirkus Reviews

"This cheery, relatable story features short and sweet chapters with plenty of Spanish words and phrases sprinkled in and a cheer-worthy main character in Stef, a happy, funny girl who adores art above all." —Booklist

"Young readers will feel a kinship with Stef as she struggles to spread her wings in this engaging and relatable middle-grade novel about growing up." —Horn Book

"The bones of this polished debut are familiar...but Torres fleshes them out with authenticity, humor, and heart. Stef's fresh, honest voice will resonate with a broad swath of readers, as will the relatable struggles she negotiates." —Publishers Weekly

"Spanish words and humorous banter pepper the dialogue, and the dual stories of the threatened family business and Stef's issues with classmates make a nice, age-appropriate balance that validates Stef's experience while pointing to a world beyond middle school politics. Readers will be happy to snack on this." —The Bulletin

School Library Journal

05/01/2024

Gr 3–6—When a meteorite falls, three middle schoolers reluctantly join together to find it. Each has a motivation—raising money for a grandparent's medical bills, appeasing a rock-hunting father, or quelling their anxiety. Told in alternating viewpoints, two female cousins and their new male friend have an eventful night in the desert looking for a meteorite while dodging natural disasters and wildlife. This novel weaves together adventure, friendship, a representation of Latinx culture, traditional constellation lore, and a small amount of space science. Here readers find well-developed characters with distinct voices and a tightly paced, fast-moving plot that harmoniously blend into a heartwarming, energetic novel. Some plot lines are not as fleshed out as others, as the ambitious novel navigates three narrators and their separate backstories and motivations. That, however, does not detract substantially from the overall effect. VERDICT A multiple-viewpoint realistic novel with broad appeal recommended for most upper elementary, middle school, or public libraries.—Elizabeth Nicolai

Kirkus Reviews

2024-04-05
Summer plans take a turn when a chunk of sky lands at a girl’s feet.

Vega is a headstrong Latine girl growing up on the edge of the Salton Sea in California’s Imperial Valley. She’s trying to get through summer vacation with her quiet, perpetually anxious prima, Mila, who was sent from Los Angeles to stay for the summer to keep her out of trouble. Though Mila’s anxieties are more apparent, Vega has worries of her own—about her older brother (who’s moving away for college), Tata (who’s recovering from his broken hip), and whether the family business, the Lone Star Market, can stay afloat. When the universe dumps a space rock at her feet—and she learns how valuable it might be—Vega sneaks off on a quest to find more meteorites in the barren desert just beyond her home, accompanied by Jasper, the son of a rockhound with his own hidden motives. Mila secretly follows them. As the desert throws its worst at the three compatriots, from scorpions to coyotes to flash-flooding arroyos, the narrative shifts among Vega’s first-person perspective and Jasper’s and Mila’s third-person views. In order to find their meteorite treasure and get home safely, the kids must share their baggage, both literal and figurative. The fast-paced read is a classic summer coming-of-age story with plenty of adventure and heart.

As in all good quests, the story’s true treasures are the relationships formed along the way. (Fiction. 9-14)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159185792
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	06/11/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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