Loved this past, futuristic read! Kids will be super into all the tech elements mixed in with Y2K “history”. Many kids will identify with Michael and Gibby- and learn lessons through them. Felt like an abrupt ending, but maybe that’s a sign that I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to know more! May we all try and do better tomorrow and take every breath!

Time travel, the 90s, and Y2K worries?! This is a book full of things that intrigue me! I loved the 90s references. I really connected with the characters. I found that alternating between the storyline taking place in the 90s and the information about the scientific aspects of the time travel in the 2100s added exactly what was necessary to make readers think, to help them understand, and to demonstrate the debates surrounding the potential consequences of time travel. The reasoning behind the title is a message that I needed to hear but also one that will do so much good for young readers. Along with this, I loved the nod to Melanie Conklin via the Conklin Principle. I found myself smiling, worrying, laughing at lines like "maxing and relaxing", and feeling genuine care and concern for the characters in this book.

My only complaint is that it ended too soon! I could have spent so much more time with these characters.

Interesting premise, but the plot fell flat. There wasn't much world building in the 1999 setting or in the future, just vague references to impending disasters and Y2K to set the time period. The characters were likeable and realistic, but not particularly interesting overall.

I've really enjoyed previous books by this author, but this one just didn't do it for me.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I requested this because I’m a big fan on Erin Entrada Kelly. I really liked the premise but it doesn’t live up to Hello Universe and When You Reach Me. That said, I did enjoy the book but wanted more, more, and more!

The events occur in about about a week in August of 1999. Y2K is looming and seems foreboding, and twelve year old Michael is worried. He’s worried by the fact that his mother has to work three jobs and that Y2K is going to cause mass chaos. He the only kid and his mom is a single parent. Michael feels he must be her protector. He’s squirreled away a secret stash of food, just in case the world ends on January 1, 2000. He also has a crush on Gibby, his babysitter. Yes he still has a babysitter. Gibby is a sweet girl who loves mystery novels and smells like strawberries, to Michael’s delight. Things become exciting one day as a strange boy appears to materialises in the courtyard of their apartment complex. He says his name is Ridge, and he claims to be from the future. He’s very convincing so Michael asks Ridge the effect Y2K will actually have on the world. He gives an evasive answer.
It seems Ridge has misused the time travel devices to go back in time to his favorite year and now it’s malfunctioning. He’s been exposed to germs in 1999 that don’t exist in his future and he’s become very Ill. He needs doctor help but he has some device implanted, he doesn’t want medical folks to discover.
The action cuts from the 20th century where they are hiding and helping Ridge to the 22nd century where his people are working on codes and devices to get the equipment fixed so Ridge can come home and be healed immediately with “the patch”.
I found the 22nd century transcripts hard to follow but that may have been the author’s intent, to keep it technical and futuristic.
It ended a little abruptly for this reader, but still a fun book I’m sure middle grade readers will enjoy.

As a girl who grew up in the 90s, I enjoyed this book and all the nods to 90s pop culture. I wonderful coming of age story of a boy who is trying to find his way preparing for Y2K, a mom who just lost her job, and just trying to find a place where he belongs. There are so many wonderful layers to the book !

Erin Entrada Kelly knocks it out of the park again with her latest novel, THE FIRST STATE OF BEING. Highly recommend for students in grades 5th & up.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this because I loved <I>Hello Universe</i>, and once I saw the comparisons to <I>When You Reach Me,</I> I was even more intrigued. This doesn’t *quite* rise to that level, but I still really enjoyed it.

The time frame here is actually pretty short - about a week in August of 1999. Twelve year old Michael is worried about a lot of things, but mainly the fact that his mother has to work three jobs and that Y2K is going to cause mass chaos. He’s kind of your typical “only kid of a single parent” trope in that he feels like he needs to take care of his mom, no matter how many times she insists that’s not his job. Either way, he’s working on a secret stash of food, just in case the world ends. Michael is also nursing the most adorable crush on his babysitter Gibby - she’s a sweet nerd who loves mystery novels and smells like strawberries (this is mentioned frequently!). Then one day, they see a strange boy in the courtyard of their apartment complex. He says his name is Ridge, and he claims to be from the future. Of course, Michael has two immediate concerns – will Y2K actually be that bad? And does Gibby *like* Ridge? (being twelve, both of these are of course equally pressing!).

Ridge drops enough tantalizing tidbits to prove himself, and Gibby and Michael set about helping him hide until he can get back to his own timeline (the device he used is malfunctioning). Ridge is from 2199, and he chose 1999 because it’s his favorite time period. The only thing he really wants to do is go to a mall. Eventually, Ridge reveals that although the *theory* of time travel has been around for a while in his timeline, he’s actually the first person to attempt it. There’s sort of an explanation that actually calls to mind the “net” in Connie Willis’s Oxford Time Travel series (I’ll be interested to read the author’s note when this book comes out and see if that was an inspiration for Kelly). There’s a device called an EGG (named for the person who invented it) that you just…press like a button. I think there are maybe some more complicated functions on the front end, but getting back really does seem to be that simple.

We get some chapters from 2199, as well as some excerpts from “textbooks” about time travel theory. Ridge and his siblings are studying to be Spacial Teleportation Scientists (or STSs). I had some quibbles with the style of a few of these chapters - they’re written like a transcript, which is an interesting choice, but there’s a lot of fake technical gobbledygook in between that just feels unnecessary. I’d rather just…have a scene between those characters. The transcript format was weirdly hard to follow and just created this weird distance. I get that this is really Michael’s story, not Ridge’s siblings’, but still - it grated. I also felt like the ending was a little rushed. One of the most beautiful things about When You Reach Me is how things all come together at the end - this felt like it was trying to imitate that moment, but it doesn't really land.

But writing about time travel is hard! I was on a serious time travel kick several years ago, and I wrote quite a few rants about the topic. It basically comes down to: you need rules, and those rules need to make sense within the world you’ve created. Kelly has done that here, and in a way that’s accessible for younger readers. And in the end, it’s more about friendship and standing up for yourself and not trying to take on all of the world’s problems.

One final note – there’s a substantial bit of business devoted to the fact that Gibby is reading <I>Last Act</i> by Christopher Pike. I was a complete Pike Stan in 1999, and this detail was just absolute perfection. A teen girl in 1999 would absolutely be reading either <I>Last Act</I> or <I>Remember Me</I> (which also gets name-checked).

I love time travel books and The First State of Being satisfies that "what if" curiosity posed by all the best science fiction. Erin Entrada Kelly brings her perceptive emotional handling and attention to detail to bear on Michael's concern about Y2K and the 1999 setting. Ridge and Gibby and all the other characters are well drawn and unique, and the twists bring the story to a neat conclusion. Another winner by one of my favorite authors!

The concept for this middle grade novel is great. I imagine very few middle schoolers know or understand the stress and beliefs around Y2K. It was fun to read about and to bring forth 1999 again.

In this work of fiction, 12-year-old Michael and his friend Gibby meet a boy from the future. The reader is taken through a few days wondering about the impact of this visit.

The story feels a little flat. The multiple story lines are important (struggling parent, Mr. Mosley, Ridge, time travel) but they are all competing equally for space in the text. One doesn’t seem more important than another.

There are some nice surprises and twists but some didn’t seem necessary. For instance, Gibby was already going to be someone great, although Michael’s life was seemingly changed forever. I wanted to have a feeling about Ridge staying or going, and he wasn’t developed enough for me to care. At one point, the Ridge Mystery appears, but I was wondering why it needed to be included based on how the story ends.

The title is cool: The First State of Being. The present moment. The first state of existence. That concept works very well.

I would recommend the book because there are some ideas middle graders will love: time travel, the state of things in the future, the idea of 1999.

Thank you #NetGalley and #HarperCollins for the ARC!

It was fun going back in time (1999) and 200 years into the future in Erin Entada Kelly's new middle grade novel, THE FIRST STATE OF BEING! 12-year-old Micheal (and never Mike!) is worried about Y2K and his huge crush on his 15-year-old babysitter Gibby. When Micheal and Gibby run into Ridge, a teenager with a strange vocabulary and even stranger clothes, everything changes. Ridge relunctantly shares that he is from the future. After convincing Micheal and Ginny that he is telling the truth, Micheal wants to know about the future, especially Y2K. Ridge wants to experience everything there is about 1999, especially malls! While exploring everything 1999 has to offer, Ridge, Micheal, and Gibby work together to get Ridge home. What makes this story unique is that the point of view goes back and forth between Ridge, Micheal, and Gibby in 1999 and Ridge's family in 2199. I really enjoyed this book, and I know my fifth graders will equally enjoy it! Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced digital copy.

eARC provided by HarperCollins via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

TL;DR: Such a fun middle grade read! Fast paced, with time travel, early 2000s nostalgia, and characters that you’ll love sitting with.

The First State of Being is Erin Entrada Kelly’s newest entry to classroom bookshelves, and in my opinion, her most poignant and heartfelt to date. The story follows Michael, a 12 year old with a lot of questions about himself, his place and purpose, and the impending Y2K crisis, all while being hopelessly crushing on his fifteen year-old babysitter, Gibby. In the midst of his doomsday prepping, things come to a halt when a weird new boy, Ridge just… shows up one day, wearing weird clothes and speaking in slang that nobody actually says. When Ridge reveals that he is actually from the distant future, Michael and Gibby must help him find a way back to his own time, all while making sure they don’t accidentally destroy the space-time continuum in the process.

Teachers, parents, and kids will find so many teaching opportunities and life lessons to share from this book. The characters and their dynamics are so heartwarming and meaningful, and the fast-paced plot will keep readers of all ages and abilities engaged. This one sat with me for a good while after I closed it. I cannot wait to get it in the hands of kids this March!

This is an auto-read/buy author for me. I love the creativity of mixing always unique situations with down-to-earth human emotions, life events, environmental themes and also always showing us great character growth.

Michael speaks to a strange boy who claims to be from the future. Although he is concerned with the knowledge that this future boy may possess, he slowly starts to understand that the present is more relevant and that he must act now whether it is something personal, or related to his family, community, or planet.

He learns a great lesson to improve himself daily and takes responsibility for it. It is scary to think of the future of our planet even when it is presented wrapped in a fun story of a visit of a boy from a better future. It's up to us in "the past" to take action.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this e-ARC.

Another absolutely lovely middle grades novel from Erin Entrada Kelly!

The characters are authentic and lovable and everything you want them to be. Michael’s anxieties over the future are relatable and make him even that much more lovable.

A must have for any middle grades library.

As a former nineties kid, I loved the setting and the references to pop culture I'd almost forgotten about. For my students, this will be a hit, as they will identify with the anxieties of the characters, which are not so different from the anxieties of the 2023 tweens.