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.