CANDACE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING, by Sherri L. Smith, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, Sept. 9, 2025, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 10-12)
Three generations of Black girls connected across time and space through a wormhole in their school locker in Candace, the Universe, and Everything, by Sherri L. Smith.
What if your locker was a wormhole to the past?
On the first day of eighth grade, Candace Wells opens her locker and is astonished when an unusual bird flies out. Soon after, a notebook mysteriously appears on the top shelf, labeled Tracey Auburn, 1988. Stranger still, as Candace reads the notebook, new messages start to appear.
Professor Tracey Auburn only vaguely remembers a bird flying into her locker in eighth grade, way back in 1988, and losing a notebook she could have sworn she put on the top shelf. Until Candace shows up at her office with the missing notebook forty years later.
Quantum physicist Loretta Spencer will never forget the bird flying out of her locker in eighth grade in 1948. Her life’s work has been to study the portal and others like it, and now she needs Tracey’s and Candace’s help to complete her research.
So begins an unlikely friendship and a hunt around Chicago and the state of Illinois to uncover the secrets of the locker, the universe, and everything. One thing’s for sure: Eighth grade will never be the same again. —Synopsis provided by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Candace, the Universe, and Everything is a speculative middle-grade novel with friendship at its heart.
One thing that holds true throughout time is that eighth-graders will be eighth-graders — even 40 years apart. And that’s what’s going to ring true with readers. The ever-changing nature of friendships rings true across the board. Author Sherri L. Smith also explores friendships across ages (teen and adult) and how rewarding that can be.
The speculative (or sci-fi) bit of this story is what’s going to get kids to pick it up — a wormhole inside a locker, sign me up! And those elements are obviously what makes the book happen, but they remain relatively small in comparison to everything else going on. That makes it great for kids new to speculative fiction, but could be disappointing for those who want more fantastical moments.
Candace, the Universe, and Everything moves quickly with fairly steady pacing and a twisty/mystery plot that holds attention. It should appeal to older middle readers.
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