Zoboi moves to Harlem to live with her father, when her grandfather, who she lived with in Huntsville, is sick in the summer. Her grandfather was one of the first black engineers at NASA and she dreams about going into space and being like him. Being at Harlem is a new culture she has to navigate and find her new place.

So many students navigate moving to new and very different home lives. This story gives them hope that it will be ok and they can find their places in new and very different situations.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Ebony Grace is in Alabama to visit her father, who works at NASA. Most kids want to blend in with others, but she likes to stand out. This book didn't make a lot of sense, and I could not figure out what the author was getting at, and it moved so slow that I didn't finish it.

The premise is wonderful - it is what attracted me to the book. Ebony Grace visits her father in Harlem in the Summer of 1984. This is quite a change from her time in Huntsville. She is interested in science and space and is encouraged to be so, but Harlem is a different world. She retreats into her imagination to feel safe. As she spends more timein Harlem, she begins to see connections between her imagined worlds and Harlem. It is a bit of a "coming of age" story. Recommended for any child interested in science and/or science fiction

In this middle grade novel, we discover Ebony-Grace who is a young girl going through a difficult situation with separated parents, and she finds comfort and solace in her passion for space exploration. She idolizes her grandfather, who worked for NASA in a pioneering position and who understands Ebony-Grace in a way that no one else can. Suddenly forced to spend a summer (and potentially longer) with her father in New York, Ebony-Grace finds herself in a new world that is very different from her previous life in the south. She struggles to navigate friend dynamics and has tremendous difficulty transitioning from the comfort of her imagination to the difficult reality of the world around her. Despite her challenges, Ebony-Grace has some profound moments of triumph and of self-discovery that make this a fascinating read.

It's summer in 1980s Harlem, and Ebony Grace is visiting her dad from Alabama. She finds herself struggling to get acclimated. While most teens and pre-teens want to fit in, Ebony Grace doesn't mind standing out. She dreams of breaking barriers for NASA, where her grandfather works.

While there is so beautiful writing here, the story as a whole and the characters just didn't come together for me. The main character seemed juvenile.

Ebony-Grace Norfleet Freeman, a 7th grader in Huntsville, AL, has a huge imagination and a passion for space travel, mostly due to her granddaddy who works as an engineer at NASA. But she is about to spend her summer in Harlem (No Joke City) with her father. It’s been three years since she has seen her father and her New York friend, Bianca Perez. When Ebony-Grace was in New York before, she and Bianca were the best of friends, playing games involving Cadet E-Grace Starfleet. But now Bianca doesn’t have time for imagination. She belongs to a group of girls known as the 9 Flavas Crew. They do Hip Hop and double dutch jump roping. Ebony-Grace has no interest in such things. “If having some flava makes me like everyone else here, then I’d rather be an ice cream sandwich any day.”

Ebony-Grace’s father insists that she stops with her imaginative games and learn to fit in with the girls in the neighborhood. “You’re gonna have to learn how to get along with the kids on the block and be normal.” And Ebony-Grace tries, but it’s hard to go against your true nature. Why isn’t normal to like science fiction movies like <i>Star Trek</i>? It seems like no matter what Ebony-Grace does, it’s the wrong thing. What she really wants is to talk to her granddaddy, but there’s something happening at home that her Momma won’t tell her about. How will she ever survive this summer without everything she is melting away?

Ebony-Grace is a spunky character dealing with some very difficult issues. It’s true that her imagination is, at times, hard to deal with, but it’s unfair of her father to expect her to completely change who she is and her frustration is well written. But as much as others are trying to change her, Ebony-Grace is also trying to change others. And perhaps that’s her biggest takeaway. “A captain has to change her mind to see a place with new eyes. She has to wonder what it’s all about.” Perhaps both sides have learned to see each other for who they, rather than who they want them to be.

Leaving cozy Huntsville, Alabama for a summer in Harlem, twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace Norfleet experiences not only culture shock, but what she sees as an alien world. The summer of 1984 finds her challenging her childish notions, and experiencing new worlds.

While marketed as a middle grade novel, all ages can enjoy this fictional story about the granddaughter of one of the first black engineers to integrate NASA. As mysterious tidbits of her grandfather slip through, the discerning reader will see the true depth of this novel.

A good read-a-like for fans of Remy Lai's Pie in the Sky.

I was fortunate to receive a free ARC of this book from Netgalley. The above thoughts, insights, or recommendations are my own meek musings.

Ebony-Grace grew on me during the course of the book. Although she's never labeled, Ebony-Grace has many characteristics of a person on the autism spectrum. I did like seeing the world through her eyes. What I didn't like as much was the lack of details about her grandfather's problems. This vagueness combined with the many transitions between E-Grace's imaginary space adventures and the challenges of her real life made the book less than engaging for me.

Ibi Zoboi proves she’s got what it takes to write compelling Juvenile fiction, although no one should be surprised. Ebony Grace is a quirky character with a huge imagination and a knack for sticking out when she spends the summer with her dad in Harlem, away from her comfortable life in Alabama. The reader both feels for EG’s awkwardness while relating to that fish out of water feeling. Set in the late 70s with a focus on the NASA space missions, this book has something for everyone.

Confusing and difficult to follow. Very disappointing after reading “American Street” and “Pride” which were stellar. The protagonist in this book was unbearable both personably and as a narrator. She was not a likable character and came across as whining and petulant. As a narrator, I had difficulty following the character’s train of thought to the point of having to reread passages over and over again to understand what was trying to be conveyed. I ended up skimming much of the book.

Thank you Penguin Young Readers for the eARC of this book!
When Ebony-Grace is sent from Huntsville to Harlem she brings her beloved Grandfather with her in the form of Captain Fleet in her imagination location.
Her old friends in Harlem are no longer interested in Ebony-Grace’s stories of outer space, and she doesn’t know how to fit in in this new world.

Although I really enjoy this author, I didn't love this book. I liked that the character had a great imagination and used that when she had trouble making friends. It just seemed all over the place. I felt bad for the girl as she just seemed to cause trouble wherever she went. No one seemed to want her, except for her grandfather, and she was separated from him. It didn't seem to get her down though.

I was very disappointed in this book. It was very hard to follow because Ebony’s imagination was so wild. It was very distracting.

I liked everything this book was trying to do. It was about a young girl that used her imagination and a fantasy world to cope with the real world. It was what she and her grandpa did together and now she's found herself living with her dad and away from him.

But as I am writing this review, I am realizing that I am still confused by the plot of this story. I enjoy the role that her Ebony Grace's imagination plays in her life and the challenges of remembering that she also has to exist in the real world but... I am still confused.

The act of reading the book was a pleasant one but I am left feeling like I do not really know what happened.

This is a wonderful middle-grade book. Ebony-Grace will be spending the summer with her father in Harlem. This is a hard adjustment for Ebony-Grace who lives in Alabama with her mother and grandfather. and likes to spend her time in her imagination exploring planets and protecting her world from aliens. Ebony-Graces grandfather encourages her to use her imagination, but the rest of the world thinks it is time to grow up. She loves her grandfather and it is really hard for her to be away from him this summer, especially since her mother won't let her speak to him. Over the summer Ebony-Grace learns to let go and grow up, but still hold on to a little of her imagination.

A fantastic book that covers many of the universal themes of middle grade- friendship, family, identity- while also presenting an unique and engaging main character. I loved seeing representation of a geeky girl finding her place. Many students will identify with her struggles and the themes in the book. Highly recommend.

2.5 Stars
Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for providing a free advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was genuinely excited about a new release from this author. Especially one that could be put into my middle school library. So I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, I found myself more confused than interested as I read.

The main character, 12 year old, Ebony Grace loves all things related to space and science fiction. Her grandfather, a NASA engineer, had fostered this love within her through stories, movies, comic books and the like. Ebony Grace found that in her “imagination location” she could always be surrounded by the world she has to come to love. Also giving her the ability to escape reality.

However, this book doesn’t do a good job of character building. I feel like as the reader there was information that could’ve been given to understand her need for her refuge. Or if this wasn’t her refuge than a better explanation of her “imagination location” would’ve helped with the flow. It feels like throughout the majority of the book Ebony Grace is speaking in a language that only she knows. A language that as a reader I couldn’t grasp in only 256 pages, unless I was given a bit more back story.

The book touches on the beginning of hip hop culture in the 1980s. As a kid who grew up during this time I enjoyed the historical pieces that were chosen in the book. However, Ebony’s “imagination location” and the plotline of the 1980s scene of bright colors, side ponytails, breakdancing and hip hop geniuses, seem to flow side by side, barely intertwining. This not only made it hard to tell what the actual plot of the story was supposed to be but I didn’t feel like there was any character arc for Ebony. Again, this made the book feel very disconnected. Obviously, this wasn’t one of my favorites. However, I will still look forward to this author’s future books.

Ebony Grace is a twelve-year old girl who reluctantly travels from Alabama to New York City in the summer of 1985 to visit her father. Prone to flights of imagination about space, Ebony Grace has trouble relating to those around her. While author does an excellent job of depicting the Harlem of the 1980s, the main character is difficult to understand and like. If there are schools interested in adding titles which characterize life in the inner city, then this would be a good choice. However, for those looking for a story about getting along, being kind or being a good friend, this story falls short.

I was very disappointed in this book. After reading American Street, I vowed to read anything Ibi Zoboi wrote. I was thrilled to see that she was sharing her talents with a middle grade audience. However, as a middle school librarian and the parent of middle schooler, I can say with great confidence that she has completely missed the mark on this one. Ebony Grace’s imagination is not only a distraction to the story, but it is not relatable for this age group.

I was initially very excited about this book, especially as a child of the 80s, but I found the style and narrator difficult to follow. As a teacher, I felt myself constantly trying to assess Ebony Grace - is she on the spectrum? Is the author trying to make a broader point about imaginative and socially awkward children? I found the shifting between reality and imagination somewhat disorienting, and while I understood all the oft-unexplained pop culture references, I imagine those might also throw off middle grade-aged readers. In the end, I had been hoping for much more than what this book delivered.