Hello Universe

the long version

Winner of the 2018 Newbery Medal. This is a funny and poignant story about unexpected friendships. In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his loud family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister Gen is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just act normal so that he can concentrate on basketball. They aren't friends - at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find the missing Virgil. Is it a coincidence that their lives collide? Or are some things just meant to be? An irresistible story about unlikely friendships from an acclaimed and award-winning author.