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How to Become a Planet
For Pluto, summer has always started with a trip to the planetarium. It’s the launch to her favorite season, which also includes visits to the boardwalk arcade, working in her mom’s pizzeria, and her best friend Meredith’s birthday party. But this summer, none of that feels possible.
A month before the end of the school year, Pluto’s frightened mom broke down Pluto’s bedroom door. What came next were doctor’s appointments, a diagnosis of depression, and a big black hole that still sits on Pluto’s chest, making it too hard to do anything.
Pluto can’t explain to her mom why she can’t do the things she used to love. And it isn’t until Pluto’s dad threatens to make her move with him to the city—where he believes his money, in particular, could help—that Pluto becomes desperate enough to do whatever it takes to be the old Pluto again.
She develops a plan and a checklist: If she takes her medication, if she goes to the planetarium with her mom for her birthday, if she successfully finishes her summer school work with her tutor, if she goes to Meredith’s birthday party . . . if she does all the things that “normal” Pluto would do, she can stay with her mom in Jersey. But it takes a new therapist, a new tutor, and a new (and cute) friend with a checklist and plan of her own for Pluto to learn that there is no old and new Pluto. There’s just her.
A month before the end of the school year, Pluto’s frightened mom broke down Pluto’s bedroom door. What came next were doctor’s appointments, a diagnosis of depression, and a big black hole that still sits on Pluto’s chest, making it too hard to do anything.
Pluto can’t explain to her mom why she can’t do the things she used to love. And it isn’t until Pluto’s dad threatens to make her move with him to the city—where he believes his money, in particular, could help—that Pluto becomes desperate enough to do whatever it takes to be the old Pluto again.
She develops a plan and a checklist: If she takes her medication, if she goes to the planetarium with her mom for her birthday, if she successfully finishes her summer school work with her tutor, if she goes to Meredith’s birthday party . . . if she does all the things that “normal” Pluto would do, she can stay with her mom in Jersey. But it takes a new therapist, a new tutor, and a new (and cute) friend with a checklist and plan of her own for Pluto to learn that there is no old and new Pluto. There’s just her.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 25, 2021
38 people are currently reading
5621 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Melleby
14 books273 followersNicole Melleby, a Jersey native, is the author of highly praised middle-grade books, including the Lambda Literary finalist Hurricane Season and ALA Notable Children's book How to Become a Planet. She lives with her wife and their cats, whose needs for attention oddly align with Nicole’s writing schedule.
Feel free to follow her on Twitter @LadyMelleby
Feel free to follow her on Twitter @LadyMelleby
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 277 reviews
May 24, 2021
rep: sapphic mc with depression and anxiety, nonbinary li, side sapphic couple, side character with ODC
tw: panic attacks
Review also on Reads Rainbow. ARC provided by the publisher.
How to Become a Planet is not an easy book to read, in a way that it’s a book about a depressed teenager. It hurts to read, especially if it resonates with your own lived experiences. At the same time, because the writing is so good, it flows easily and makes you want to finish the whole thing in one sitting. A book of contradictions.
As always with Melleby’s books, there is more than one obstacle for the main character to deal with, but all of it ties together nicely. Pluto has depression, yes, but she also has panic attacks quite regularly; she has to make up a big portion of her school year she messed up because of her mental illnesses; she has parents who aren’t a couple anymore and both want the best for her, but just end up pulling her in different directions; she has friendships breaking apart…
All of this just works to make the book more real and relatable. It never feels like piling more & more problems on Pluto’s shoulders for the sake of creating some kind of tragedy porn. On the contrary, for every little thing that’s broken (or in the process of breaking) in Pluto’s life, there’s either something good happening or someone introducing a solution for Pluto to try. She has an amazing support system, and that might be the most important & groundbreaking part of How to Become a Planet.
Those were all choices on the author’s part, and they feel very deliberate. Even the title itself. Pluto, as her name demands, is obsessed with astronomy. There’s a whole plotline where she calls the Hayden Planetarium Astronomy Question and Answer Hotline numerous times, but each time she asks a super specific question. Sometimes they’re strictly astronomy related, but sometimes they’re more about Pluto and her life, as if the Hotline was her safe haven, a Life Line almost.
How to Become a Planet is a very tender book. It’s shaped in a way to let LGBT youth know they will always have people fighting for them, there will always be hope & love. The book breaks your heart a little bit, but it also stitches it back together, just like Pluto stitches herself back together, with the help of all the people around her who care deeply about her happiness.
tw: panic attacks
Review also on Reads Rainbow. ARC provided by the publisher.
How to Become a Planet is not an easy book to read, in a way that it’s a book about a depressed teenager. It hurts to read, especially if it resonates with your own lived experiences. At the same time, because the writing is so good, it flows easily and makes you want to finish the whole thing in one sitting. A book of contradictions.
As always with Melleby’s books, there is more than one obstacle for the main character to deal with, but all of it ties together nicely. Pluto has depression, yes, but she also has panic attacks quite regularly; she has to make up a big portion of her school year she messed up because of her mental illnesses; she has parents who aren’t a couple anymore and both want the best for her, but just end up pulling her in different directions; she has friendships breaking apart…
All of this just works to make the book more real and relatable. It never feels like piling more & more problems on Pluto’s shoulders for the sake of creating some kind of tragedy porn. On the contrary, for every little thing that’s broken (or in the process of breaking) in Pluto’s life, there’s either something good happening or someone introducing a solution for Pluto to try. She has an amazing support system, and that might be the most important & groundbreaking part of How to Become a Planet.
Those were all choices on the author’s part, and they feel very deliberate. Even the title itself. Pluto, as her name demands, is obsessed with astronomy. There’s a whole plotline where she calls the Hayden Planetarium Astronomy Question and Answer Hotline numerous times, but each time she asks a super specific question. Sometimes they’re strictly astronomy related, but sometimes they’re more about Pluto and her life, as if the Hotline was her safe haven, a Life Line almost.
How to Become a Planet is a very tender book. It’s shaped in a way to let LGBT youth know they will always have people fighting for them, there will always be hope & love. The book breaks your heart a little bit, but it also stitches it back together, just like Pluto stitches herself back together, with the help of all the people around her who care deeply about her happiness.
May 16, 2021
I love this book. It made me cry a lot because I got Pluto and I got her mom and they both try so hard. I don’t know if the fact that I started reading on a day when every little thing was already making me cry was a good or a bad thing but maybe having an excuse to let those tears come was good, so I’ll go with that.
How to Become a Planet tells the story of Pluto who, just before her thirteenth birthday, is diagnosed with depression and anxiety. She missed the last month or so of seventh grade and needs to work with a tutor to get into eighth grade at the end of the summer. Her mom is trying really hard to help but Pluto’s dad wants her to come live in New York with him. Pluto then makes a list of everything she needs to do before the end of the summer to go back to the Pluto she was before. Life gets in the way but in all that chaos, Pluto makes a new friend, one who didn’t know pre-diagnosis Pluto and who comes with a list of her own.
I can’t detail everything going on in this book, like the fact that Pluto isn’t called Pluto for no reason, or that it came to my attention not because it deals with mental health but for its queer storyline (it’s written as delicately and profoundly as can be hoped for in a Middle Grade book).
As a parent, reading about this sweet child fighting her way through depression was at times overwhelming and it made me think a lot about my own child, who, despite her own issues, is fundamentally a happy person. Which I know doesn’t mean everything is fine. I’m a fundamentally happy person but I also know exactly what Pluto is going through. I have to say, I never expected to find a twelve-year-old girl so relatable. At one point Pluto says, “I don’t know who I am anymore”. Ugh. I named my blog Not Me Anymore.
This book would have helped young me a lot, maybe not at twelve or thirteen because I don’t think I was that aware that early but who knows. It’s gentle and heartbreaking and heartwarming and so many other things at the same time. I haven’t liked a children’s book so much in a very long time. While it made me cry more than I’m comfortable with, it also made my heart very full and warm.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
How to Become a Planet tells the story of Pluto who, just before her thirteenth birthday, is diagnosed with depression and anxiety. She missed the last month or so of seventh grade and needs to work with a tutor to get into eighth grade at the end of the summer. Her mom is trying really hard to help but Pluto’s dad wants her to come live in New York with him. Pluto then makes a list of everything she needs to do before the end of the summer to go back to the Pluto she was before. Life gets in the way but in all that chaos, Pluto makes a new friend, one who didn’t know pre-diagnosis Pluto and who comes with a list of her own.
I can’t detail everything going on in this book, like the fact that Pluto isn’t called Pluto for no reason, or that it came to my attention not because it deals with mental health but for its queer storyline (it’s written as delicately and profoundly as can be hoped for in a Middle Grade book).
As a parent, reading about this sweet child fighting her way through depression was at times overwhelming and it made me think a lot about my own child, who, despite her own issues, is fundamentally a happy person. Which I know doesn’t mean everything is fine. I’m a fundamentally happy person but I also know exactly what Pluto is going through. I have to say, I never expected to find a twelve-year-old girl so relatable. At one point Pluto says, “I don’t know who I am anymore”. Ugh. I named my blog Not Me Anymore.
This book would have helped young me a lot, maybe not at twelve or thirteen because I don’t think I was that aware that early but who knows. It’s gentle and heartbreaking and heartwarming and so many other things at the same time. I haven’t liked a children’s book so much in a very long time. While it made me cry more than I’m comfortable with, it also made my heart very full and warm.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 25, 2021
Really honest and so realistic. The first MG account of depression I've read that focuses on the kid's depression, rather than an older relative/friend, and doesn't sugarcoat it. And some very gentle, sweet queer exploration!
May 25, 2021
It’s a space-themed MG book, so of course I loved it. 🚀🪐☄️
Pluto Timoney (12) loves astronomy because her mom loves it. But she misses the last month of her seventh grade after being diagnosed with depression and anxiety and Pluto wonders if she’ll ever be the same again. Or would she be like Pluto the planet becoming a non-planet?
Remember the Challenger disaster in 1986? I wasn’t born then, but I still remember the first time I read about it and that one of the seven astronauts was a high school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, who comes up a lot in this book, and it hurt to think of how everything was gone in a split second.
I relate so much to the space stuff. Did you have glowing stars on your bedroom wall when you were a kid? I did. Were you obsessed with black holes in middle school? I was (I was also terrified of the idea that a black hole would come too close to Earth and we’d all disappear). Did you wonder why Pluto was a planet and suddenly it wasn’t anymore? Yes (it happened in 2006). And seeing Pluto thinking about everything through space analogies is so refreshing. She is struggling to understand her own feelings, her thoughts, why she sleeps all the time, and she finds herself parallel to space stuff.
But the story isn’t really about Pluto and her space knowledge. It’s about Pluto understanding that it’s okay to not feel the same, it’s okay to not being able to do things like getting up or going to birthday parties or enjoying a trip to the planetarium. It is also about Pluto’s friends and family trying to understand her.
Pluto has a list she wants to accomplish to avoid getting send to live with her dad. Fallon Zamprogna, who works at her family shop down the road of Timoney’s pizzeria, also has a list of her own. Them striking up a friendship is the sweetest thing ever. I love that both Pluto and Fallon are figuring things out in their own ways and that they don’t magically know who they are at twelve or thirteen. They are growing and learning and it’s okay, too.
It’s so important for middle schoolers to know about depression and anxiety. The way How to Become a Planet was written makes it easy to understand, even though neither is a simple topic. We see Pluto’s spiraling thoughts, her overthinking, her wanting to stop and just sleep and get sucked into a black hole. The narrative is so real that it leaves my mind reeling sometimes. And it’s not just for young readers either. We see Pluto’s mom trying, too. Everyone in this book has such a beautiful soul. They’re real people who mess up sometimes, do impulsive things, but they are trying. They try to understand, to learn, to love. There are queer kids and queer adults, too, and I absolutely love that they’re just there.
By the time I reached the end of the book, I feel so proud of Pluto. I love that she is taking one step at a time, navigating family relationships, friendships, etc. Depression and anxiety don’t just go away. There are good days and bad days and Pluto knows that it’s okay, too. How to Become a Planet is heavy, sad, and full of joy all at the same time, and whether you want an MG book about mental health, or a somewhat space-related story, this is a must-read.
content warnings: depression, anxiety, panic attacks, medication, blood, OCD (contamination)
I received a digital review copy from Algonquin Young Readers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Pluto Timoney (12) loves astronomy because her mom loves it. But she misses the last month of her seventh grade after being diagnosed with depression and anxiety and Pluto wonders if she’ll ever be the same again. Or would she be like Pluto the planet becoming a non-planet?
Remember the Challenger disaster in 1986? I wasn’t born then, but I still remember the first time I read about it and that one of the seven astronauts was a high school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, who comes up a lot in this book, and it hurt to think of how everything was gone in a split second.
I relate so much to the space stuff. Did you have glowing stars on your bedroom wall when you were a kid? I did. Were you obsessed with black holes in middle school? I was (I was also terrified of the idea that a black hole would come too close to Earth and we’d all disappear). Did you wonder why Pluto was a planet and suddenly it wasn’t anymore? Yes (it happened in 2006). And seeing Pluto thinking about everything through space analogies is so refreshing. She is struggling to understand her own feelings, her thoughts, why she sleeps all the time, and she finds herself parallel to space stuff.
But the story isn’t really about Pluto and her space knowledge. It’s about Pluto understanding that it’s okay to not feel the same, it’s okay to not being able to do things like getting up or going to birthday parties or enjoying a trip to the planetarium. It is also about Pluto’s friends and family trying to understand her.
Pluto has a list she wants to accomplish to avoid getting send to live with her dad. Fallon Zamprogna, who works at her family shop down the road of Timoney’s pizzeria, also has a list of her own. Them striking up a friendship is the sweetest thing ever. I love that both Pluto and Fallon are figuring things out in their own ways and that they don’t magically know who they are at twelve or thirteen. They are growing and learning and it’s okay, too.
It’s so important for middle schoolers to know about depression and anxiety. The way How to Become a Planet was written makes it easy to understand, even though neither is a simple topic. We see Pluto’s spiraling thoughts, her overthinking, her wanting to stop and just sleep and get sucked into a black hole. The narrative is so real that it leaves my mind reeling sometimes. And it’s not just for young readers either. We see Pluto’s mom trying, too. Everyone in this book has such a beautiful soul. They’re real people who mess up sometimes, do impulsive things, but they are trying. They try to understand, to learn, to love. There are queer kids and queer adults, too, and I absolutely love that they’re just there.
By the time I reached the end of the book, I feel so proud of Pluto. I love that she is taking one step at a time, navigating family relationships, friendships, etc. Depression and anxiety don’t just go away. There are good days and bad days and Pluto knows that it’s okay, too. How to Become a Planet is heavy, sad, and full of joy all at the same time, and whether you want an MG book about mental health, or a somewhat space-related story, this is a must-read.
content warnings: depression, anxiety, panic attacks, medication, blood, OCD (contamination)
I received a digital review copy from Algonquin Young Readers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 16, 2020
I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.
How to become a Planet is a heartfelt, tender book about a young girl called Pluto who has been diagnosed with depression. Pluto's world has been turned upside down by this diagnosis and she has missed much of her year in school because of it as well as loose her friends and passion for hobbies and interests. Pluto feels there is something wrong with her and doesn't understand what is happening to her.
I really enjoyed this book and it most certainly tugged at my emotions as a parent and as a sufferer of depression. The author handled this subject with compassion, gentleness and tenderness in a delicate and understandable way for children and did an amazing job of it!
How to become a Planet is a heartfelt, tender book about a young girl called Pluto who has been diagnosed with depression. Pluto's world has been turned upside down by this diagnosis and she has missed much of her year in school because of it as well as loose her friends and passion for hobbies and interests. Pluto feels there is something wrong with her and doesn't understand what is happening to her.
I really enjoyed this book and it most certainly tugged at my emotions as a parent and as a sufferer of depression. The author handled this subject with compassion, gentleness and tenderness in a delicate and understandable way for children and did an amazing job of it!
May 27, 2021
Hurricane Season is one of my favorites so when I saw Nicole Melleby was releasing another Middle Grade centered around mental health awareness I knew I'd definitely be picking it up!
Summer has always been Pluto's favorite. She spends her time between the boardwalk arcade, her moms pizzeria, and hanging out with her friend Meredith but this year it's different. This year she's struggled to get out of bed.
Pluto's character is well developed and so real. I could feel her pain while reading this book. The depression keeps her in bed but the anxiety keeps her from experiencing all the things she used to love. The checklist she creates is supposed to help her face those fears but all it does is cause her to be more anxious. It's like it gives her something to focus on but not always in a good way.
Throughout this book you'll see how Pluto learns to manage her depression, makes a new friend, and works to redefine her relationship with her mom and dad. Pluto's journey is one of self-discovery and finding your identity. It is well written, emotional, and beautiful all in one. Nicole is definitely one of my favorite middle grade authors and I will continue to read and support her books. I think they are important, especially for the young people struggling with mental illness themselves or understanding mental illness in someone else.
Summer has always been Pluto's favorite. She spends her time between the boardwalk arcade, her moms pizzeria, and hanging out with her friend Meredith but this year it's different. This year she's struggled to get out of bed.
Pluto's character is well developed and so real. I could feel her pain while reading this book. The depression keeps her in bed but the anxiety keeps her from experiencing all the things she used to love. The checklist she creates is supposed to help her face those fears but all it does is cause her to be more anxious. It's like it gives her something to focus on but not always in a good way.
Throughout this book you'll see how Pluto learns to manage her depression, makes a new friend, and works to redefine her relationship with her mom and dad. Pluto's journey is one of self-discovery and finding your identity. It is well written, emotional, and beautiful all in one. Nicole is definitely one of my favorite middle grade authors and I will continue to read and support her books. I think they are important, especially for the young people struggling with mental illness themselves or understanding mental illness in someone else.
May 25, 2021
5 stars
Poignant, important, and all about discovering your own space--your space within yourself, your space amongst other people, and your space in the world. (Puns, yes, but serious meanings? Also yes.)
Characters: ★★★★★
Emotional resonance: ★★★★★
Handling of topics: ★★★★★
Pluto is going through a difficult time. Recently diagnosed with depression and anxiety, it's not exactly what she had planned for the end of her seventh grade experience. 13-year-olds don't have to deal with this, do they? And if they do, why can't Pluto seem to handle it better? (Those are Pluto's harsh questions for herself.)
Not only is Pluto navigating her own struggle and trying to figure out how to get through it--her dad, located in New York City, thinks he knows what's best and wants Pluto to come to the city in order to get better.
Pluto doesn't want to leave her mom, and she doesn't want to go to the city. So it's time to make a list of what she needs to do in order to be "Pluto" again. If she can find herself and act like she used to, then she can stay...right?
Pluto is about to discover just what it means to be herself. And how, at the end of the day, she can chart her own path through the stars.
My thoughts:
Wow, is this book filled with heart. I cried, I ached, I laughed, I smiled. Pluto's journey through love, self acceptance, and personal growth was something special to witness.
One of the poignant elements to me was Pluto's support system. Unlike other novels I've read, where the main character(s) might occasionally be unmoored without a robust group of loved ones around them, How to Become a Planet showcased a loving group of folks around Pluto wishing her the best, trying to help her, and helping her each step of the way in the best way they could. I found that added to the story immensely and left me with a feeling of warmth and safeness. I can only imagine how this would resonate with younger readers going through similar circumstances.
This is an important novel for young LGBT+ teens, and especially those at the younger end. I look forward to having this in my arsenal for book recommendations for children and parents alike.
Blog | Instagram
Poignant, important, and all about discovering your own space--your space within yourself, your space amongst other people, and your space in the world. (Puns, yes, but serious meanings? Also yes.)
Characters: ★★★★★
Emotional resonance: ★★★★★
Handling of topics: ★★★★★
Pluto is going through a difficult time. Recently diagnosed with depression and anxiety, it's not exactly what she had planned for the end of her seventh grade experience. 13-year-olds don't have to deal with this, do they? And if they do, why can't Pluto seem to handle it better? (Those are Pluto's harsh questions for herself.)
Not only is Pluto navigating her own struggle and trying to figure out how to get through it--her dad, located in New York City, thinks he knows what's best and wants Pluto to come to the city in order to get better.
Pluto doesn't want to leave her mom, and she doesn't want to go to the city. So it's time to make a list of what she needs to do in order to be "Pluto" again. If she can find herself and act like she used to, then she can stay...right?
Pluto is about to discover just what it means to be herself. And how, at the end of the day, she can chart her own path through the stars.
My thoughts:
Wow, is this book filled with heart. I cried, I ached, I laughed, I smiled. Pluto's journey through love, self acceptance, and personal growth was something special to witness.
One of the poignant elements to me was Pluto's support system. Unlike other novels I've read, where the main character(s) might occasionally be unmoored without a robust group of loved ones around them, How to Become a Planet showcased a loving group of folks around Pluto wishing her the best, trying to help her, and helping her each step of the way in the best way they could. I found that added to the story immensely and left me with a feeling of warmth and safeness. I can only imagine how this would resonate with younger readers going through similar circumstances.
This is an important novel for young LGBT+ teens, and especially those at the younger end. I look forward to having this in my arsenal for book recommendations for children and parents alike.
Blog | Instagram
May 14, 2021
TW: Depression, anxiety, panic attacks.
When I look up at the night sky, I can see the stars, the moon, and the inky darkness. If I keep looking, the knowledge washes over me that the universe is so vast, so huge, that we are mere specks. And I watch on in awe, my jaw dropped open. The cosmos is more than humanity can control, but we think we know it all. We think we can include and expel planets from the groups of heavenly objects we seem to move in. We think they care. Pluto, the planet, doesn't care if it's part of the solar system or not. Just don't mess with it.
Pluto, the human, on the other hand, whose mother named her after the planet, is a 12-year-old, about to be 13, and is battling depression and anxiety. Having just been diagnosed, she doesn't know how to deal with the emotions. The bad days make her want to become a black hole and the good days make her doubt herself. And when her father wants her to live with him because he thinks he will be able to provide better medical care for her, she desperately makes a list. A list that, if completed, will allow her to live with her Mom. Oh, and maybe make a new friend in the process.
I finished this book in about 8 hours, with breaks, because it was so engaging. Understanding depression and anxiety isn't easy and this book lays bare the roughest parts of it in a gentle, loving manner that makes your chest ache. You might think that since this is a middle grade book, the story might be softened to match the kids. But despite it being gentle, it is straight-faced and honest.
But it comes with its own issues: it's repetitive in places, the mother's handling of the situation isn't clear - sometimes it makes you assume, and there's a point where Pluto's tutor betrays her to her Mom, which isn't okay on so many levels. Reminded me of Felix Ever After and how Felix was deadnamed before the whole school.
'How to Become a Planet' is still a good read that has queer rep while treating it as the normal thing it is and how it should be treated as in real life.
When I look up at the night sky, I can see the stars, the moon, and the inky darkness. If I keep looking, the knowledge washes over me that the universe is so vast, so huge, that we are mere specks. And I watch on in awe, my jaw dropped open. The cosmos is more than humanity can control, but we think we know it all. We think we can include and expel planets from the groups of heavenly objects we seem to move in. We think they care. Pluto, the planet, doesn't care if it's part of the solar system or not. Just don't mess with it.
Pluto, the human, on the other hand, whose mother named her after the planet, is a 12-year-old, about to be 13, and is battling depression and anxiety. Having just been diagnosed, she doesn't know how to deal with the emotions. The bad days make her want to become a black hole and the good days make her doubt herself. And when her father wants her to live with him because he thinks he will be able to provide better medical care for her, she desperately makes a list. A list that, if completed, will allow her to live with her Mom. Oh, and maybe make a new friend in the process.
I finished this book in about 8 hours, with breaks, because it was so engaging. Understanding depression and anxiety isn't easy and this book lays bare the roughest parts of it in a gentle, loving manner that makes your chest ache. You might think that since this is a middle grade book, the story might be softened to match the kids. But despite it being gentle, it is straight-faced and honest.
But it comes with its own issues: it's repetitive in places, the mother's handling of the situation isn't clear - sometimes it makes you assume, and there's a point where Pluto's tutor betrays her to her Mom, which isn't okay on so many levels. Reminded me of Felix Ever After and how Felix was deadnamed before the whole school.
'How to Become a Planet' is still a good read that has queer rep while treating it as the normal thing it is and how it should be treated as in real life.
May 26, 2021
Perfect portrayal of depression.
🎉 Happy book birthday, @nicolemelleby !! 🎉
Thx to @algonquinyr for the ARC
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I highly recommend this gorgeous middle grade novel about teenage depression. As someone who struggled with depression and anxiety as a teen this resonated with me. ❤️
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Pluto Timoney loves in a seaside NJ town with her mother. They are both obsessed with outer space. Usually Pluto loves spending the summer on the boardwalk with her friends, but this summer she struggles to even get out of bed. Pluto makes a plan and a deadline to get better, but discovers she can’t force healing. It will take therapy, a new tutor, a new friend, bravery, and time for Pluto to begin to heal from her major depressive episode.
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“Pluto felt her chest grow tight, her jaw clenched, and she threw the newspaper across the room, pages scattering to the floor. She didn’t want to try. She was tired of trying...”
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Pluto’s attempt to wish and work herself better is painful to read, but the experience rings true for me. I identified with Pluto, but as a mother I found myself also sympathizing with Pluto’s terrified mother who is willing to do anything to help her daughter. Overall, this is a compassionate portrayal of depression as a family illness.
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This novel will is a must read must buy for elementary and middle school libraries! Grades 4+.
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#endthestigma #depression #depressionawareness #howtobecomeaplanet #nicolemelleby #mglit #newbook #bookreview #bookstagram #bookbirthday #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #bookrecommendations
🎉 Happy book birthday, @nicolemelleby !! 🎉
Thx to @algonquinyr for the ARC
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I highly recommend this gorgeous middle grade novel about teenage depression. As someone who struggled with depression and anxiety as a teen this resonated with me. ❤️
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Pluto Timoney loves in a seaside NJ town with her mother. They are both obsessed with outer space. Usually Pluto loves spending the summer on the boardwalk with her friends, but this summer she struggles to even get out of bed. Pluto makes a plan and a deadline to get better, but discovers she can’t force healing. It will take therapy, a new tutor, a new friend, bravery, and time for Pluto to begin to heal from her major depressive episode.
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“Pluto felt her chest grow tight, her jaw clenched, and she threw the newspaper across the room, pages scattering to the floor. She didn’t want to try. She was tired of trying...”
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Pluto’s attempt to wish and work herself better is painful to read, but the experience rings true for me. I identified with Pluto, but as a mother I found myself also sympathizing with Pluto’s terrified mother who is willing to do anything to help her daughter. Overall, this is a compassionate portrayal of depression as a family illness.
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This novel will is a must read must buy for elementary and middle school libraries! Grades 4+.
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#endthestigma #depression #depressionawareness #howtobecomeaplanet #nicolemelleby #mglit #newbook #bookreview #bookstagram #bookbirthday #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #bookrecommendations
March 27, 2022
I think my guardian angels 😇 ✨️ directed me towards this and "summer of june" for certain reasons and I'm glad they did.
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This is another book that makes me feel seen, in a different way, and has me looking back on a few instances in my life (one in particular) that I wish I had thought to ask more questions and participated more. I was 12 though *shrugs * and trusted my parents/doctors.
I don't think they knew what to do with me and I doubt my parents would remember what alm they discussed with the doctors but I will ask them, one day.
Pluto's breakdown had me flashing back to my own, and putting it in a new light in a way. The helplessness, frustration and confusion and all that all rang true and didn't feel inauthentic. I just wanted to wrap Pluto in a blanket and feed her smores, watch anything she wanted ..
There were tears many timea during reading this, this will pull on your heartstrings for sure.
This is another book 📖 that I am glad is out today, hopefully books like these will have kids/teens feel less alone and able to talk to those they love and trust.
I'm not sure if some should read this if they are in a low emotional situation, but for me this helped.
Would recommend 👌 👍 👏
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This is another book that makes me feel seen, in a different way, and has me looking back on a few instances in my life (one in particular) that I wish I had thought to ask more questions and participated more. I was 12 though *shrugs * and trusted my parents/doctors.
I don't think they knew what to do with me and I doubt my parents would remember what alm they discussed with the doctors but I will ask them, one day.
Pluto's breakdown had me flashing back to my own, and putting it in a new light in a way. The helplessness, frustration and confusion and all that all rang true and didn't feel inauthentic. I just wanted to wrap Pluto in a blanket and feed her smores, watch anything she wanted ..
There were tears many timea during reading this, this will pull on your heartstrings for sure.
This is another book 📖 that I am glad is out today, hopefully books like these will have kids/teens feel less alone and able to talk to those they love and trust.
I'm not sure if some should read this if they are in a low emotional situation, but for me this helped.
Would recommend 👌 👍 👏
May 22, 2022
I say this with every Melleby book since all of them are oddly specific to my own adolescence but wow. I wish I had this when I was in the same position Pluto was and I still felt so seen reading it now, years later but still dealing with depression and anxiety.
April 30, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and Algonquin Young Readers for the eARC.
How to Become a Planet is emotional, heartwarming, and sweet, as it navigates Pluto's issues with mental health, her friendships, and her family. As always, I greatly enjoy reading queer books for younger readers, and I'm delighted that they're becoming more popular.
I don't speak for everyone, but I liked how this book handles Pluto's depression and anxiety, especially by addressing that these aren't fixable problems, nor are they things that make someone any less of a person. I also liked how it shows the effects on the other people in her life. I wish it did more to address her mother's actions, specifically the things she does that hurt Pluto; while she's having trouble dealing with Pluto's diagnosis, she's still the adult in this situation and should have taken more responsibility. Additionally, Pluto's tutor outed her to her mom, and that just got pushed to the side, which is in no way okay. She should not have betrayed Pluto's trust in that way, and I don't particularly appreciate how easily it was forgiven and forgotten about. This last critique is a small thing, but I thought it was odd and a little inaccurate how the adults in this book treated middle schoolers like they were significantly younger.
I gave this book 3.5 stars; I thought it was mostly well written, and I would definitely recommend it to younger readers.
Major content warnings for panic attacks, depression, being outed.
How to Become a Planet is emotional, heartwarming, and sweet, as it navigates Pluto's issues with mental health, her friendships, and her family. As always, I greatly enjoy reading queer books for younger readers, and I'm delighted that they're becoming more popular.
I don't speak for everyone, but I liked how this book handles Pluto's depression and anxiety, especially by addressing that these aren't fixable problems, nor are they things that make someone any less of a person. I also liked how it shows the effects on the other people in her life. I wish it did more to address her mother's actions, specifically the things she does that hurt Pluto; while she's having trouble dealing with Pluto's diagnosis, she's still the adult in this situation and should have taken more responsibility. Additionally, Pluto's tutor outed her to her mom, and that just got pushed to the side, which is in no way okay. She should not have betrayed Pluto's trust in that way, and I don't particularly appreciate how easily it was forgiven and forgotten about. This last critique is a small thing, but I thought it was odd and a little inaccurate how the adults in this book treated middle schoolers like they were significantly younger.
I gave this book 3.5 stars; I thought it was mostly well written, and I would definitely recommend it to younger readers.
Major content warnings for panic attacks, depression, being outed.
September 2, 2020
I was fortunate to read an ARC of this beautiful story. Melleby writes mental illness with such a sensitive, nuanced approach. Pluto's struggle to reconcile her depression and anxiety diagnoses with an increasingly fraught relationship with her mom and a developing crush on a new nonbinary friend over the course of one pivotal summer holiday is both relatable and engaging.
Keep an eye out for this book next year. Highly recommended.
Keep an eye out for this book next year. Highly recommended.
May 26, 2021
DNFed. The writing is fine. The characters are okay. I just couldn't feel the connection.
June 17, 2021
You know what got me interested in this book? That the main character was named Pluto. Mainly because her mother and I have something in common: Pluto used to be my favorite planet. Until it was not longer a planet of course. You know what got me buying this book? Because I'm currently in a stage in life where I think I can confront my own experience with depression without breaking down completely. This middle grade sounded like a great start.
At the end of the book I was still a mess though. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and it was a case of very ugly crying. However, it was the good kind of crying. The crying and smiling at the same time. The crying because although the story touched my soul, it also hugged a part of me I didn't realize still needed hugging. The crying because for once depression is not treated as something that should be fixed, but just as something making Pluto Pluto.
It's not an easy journey. Throughout the story we see Pluto struggling. Struggling with wanting to be the girl she used to be and struggling with simply not finding the power within herself to do the things she has to do to become that person again. Actually Pluto's summer is one big fight. And although she's also fighting with her surroundings, she's sadly enough mostly fighting with herself, with her own expectations and guilt.
How the author, through the experiences of Pluto, describes depression sounded so incredibly accurate. I remember how I sat in the middle of my room, with boxes and stuff all around me because I was going to clean up, because a clean room is a clear head. And I just had to call my mom. I couldn't do it. I couldn't see it. I wondered why I was even trying and I wondered why I was even hoping that something stupid like this would help. I know how Pluto felt throughout the book. I've been there.
But that also makes her journey so beautiful to read. I think in a way this is both a comforting book for kids dealing with issues like Pluto, although it can also be quite confronting so careful with that, but it's also a book explaining others what it feels like, what it is like, why you can't be the great friend you would want to be deep inside. And combining this hard to discuss topic with Astronomy, and Pluto in particular, was absolutely brilliant.
At the end of the book I was still a mess though. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and it was a case of very ugly crying. However, it was the good kind of crying. The crying and smiling at the same time. The crying because although the story touched my soul, it also hugged a part of me I didn't realize still needed hugging. The crying because for once depression is not treated as something that should be fixed, but just as something making Pluto Pluto.
It's not an easy journey. Throughout the story we see Pluto struggling. Struggling with wanting to be the girl she used to be and struggling with simply not finding the power within herself to do the things she has to do to become that person again. Actually Pluto's summer is one big fight. And although she's also fighting with her surroundings, she's sadly enough mostly fighting with herself, with her own expectations and guilt.
How the author, through the experiences of Pluto, describes depression sounded so incredibly accurate. I remember how I sat in the middle of my room, with boxes and stuff all around me because I was going to clean up, because a clean room is a clear head. And I just had to call my mom. I couldn't do it. I couldn't see it. I wondered why I was even trying and I wondered why I was even hoping that something stupid like this would help. I know how Pluto felt throughout the book. I've been there.
But that also makes her journey so beautiful to read. I think in a way this is both a comforting book for kids dealing with issues like Pluto, although it can also be quite confronting so careful with that, but it's also a book explaining others what it feels like, what it is like, why you can't be the great friend you would want to be deep inside. And combining this hard to discuss topic with Astronomy, and Pluto in particular, was absolutely brilliant.
May 25, 2021
Pluto Timoney hasn’t been to school in over a month, she stopped hanging out with her best friend Meredith, and her mom took her bedroom door off.
Thirteen-year-old Pluto loves outer space, so does her mom, hence the name Pluto. Pluto used to love summertime, walking on the boardwalk with her friends and hanging out at her mom’s pizza place, but that was before - her diagnosis. Pluto was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and now it hurts just to get out of bed some days; she’s so tired. She wants to be back to her old self and be able to go back to school in the fall and be “normal.”
When Pluto meets Fallon, a kid from the funnel cake shop down the boardwalk, she loves that Fallon doesn’t know the Pluto before the diagnosis. As Fallon and Pluto develop a special bond, Pluto tries to find ways to accept this new version of herself.
Talking about depression in young people is never fun, but it needs to be openly discussed. Melleby paints such an honest, realistic picture of a young teen who struggles with depression and anxiety: the loss of friendship, the search for identity, being caught between parents, and the desire to do everyday things that seem too overwhelming. With a clever space theme, this book is a must-read for kids and parents! And as May is Mental Health Awareness Month, now is the perfect time to grab a copy.
Thank you to @algonquinyr and @nicolemelleby for an invitation to this tour and a #gifted copy.
Thirteen-year-old Pluto loves outer space, so does her mom, hence the name Pluto. Pluto used to love summertime, walking on the boardwalk with her friends and hanging out at her mom’s pizza place, but that was before - her diagnosis. Pluto was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and now it hurts just to get out of bed some days; she’s so tired. She wants to be back to her old self and be able to go back to school in the fall and be “normal.”
When Pluto meets Fallon, a kid from the funnel cake shop down the boardwalk, she loves that Fallon doesn’t know the Pluto before the diagnosis. As Fallon and Pluto develop a special bond, Pluto tries to find ways to accept this new version of herself.
Talking about depression in young people is never fun, but it needs to be openly discussed. Melleby paints such an honest, realistic picture of a young teen who struggles with depression and anxiety: the loss of friendship, the search for identity, being caught between parents, and the desire to do everyday things that seem too overwhelming. With a clever space theme, this book is a must-read for kids and parents! And as May is Mental Health Awareness Month, now is the perfect time to grab a copy.
Thank you to @algonquinyr and @nicolemelleby for an invitation to this tour and a #gifted copy.
December 15, 2021
Sin duda una de las mejores lecturas del año.
A veces es difícil hablar de ansiedad y depresión con niñes, pero más si ese niñe tiene ansiedad y/o depresión. Son aguas turbulentas y desconocidas que incluso les adultes tememos navegar, porque hay tanto que no sabemos, tantas cosas que pueden ir mal en un abrir y cerrar de ojos, tantos ajustes de medicación y efectos secundarios y psicólogues, psiquiatras y gente que te intenta curar con ~buenas vibras~.
Este libro lo hace perfectamente. Te muestra lo bueno y lo malo. Los días que, aún tomando tu medicación todos los días, van mal porque las recaídas existen y pasan. Pluto es una protagonista adorable y valiente, las situaciones por las que pasa son realistas y, en mi caso, pude verme reflejada a mis 12 años con situaciones sociales y una ansiedad que te come el pecho.
Como dije, de las mejores lecturas del año y automáticamente a mi wishlist físico. Recomendadísimo para niñes y adultes, y sin duda voy a chequear otras cosas de la autora.
PD: tiene una rep LGBTQIA+ hermosa 🥰
A veces es difícil hablar de ansiedad y depresión con niñes, pero más si ese niñe tiene ansiedad y/o depresión. Son aguas turbulentas y desconocidas que incluso les adultes tememos navegar, porque hay tanto que no sabemos, tantas cosas que pueden ir mal en un abrir y cerrar de ojos, tantos ajustes de medicación y efectos secundarios y psicólogues, psiquiatras y gente que te intenta curar con ~buenas vibras~.
Este libro lo hace perfectamente. Te muestra lo bueno y lo malo. Los días que, aún tomando tu medicación todos los días, van mal porque las recaídas existen y pasan. Pluto es una protagonista adorable y valiente, las situaciones por las que pasa son realistas y, en mi caso, pude verme reflejada a mis 12 años con situaciones sociales y una ansiedad que te come el pecho.
Como dije, de las mejores lecturas del año y automáticamente a mi wishlist físico. Recomendadísimo para niñes y adultes, y sin duda voy a chequear otras cosas de la autora.
PD: tiene una rep LGBTQIA+ hermosa 🥰
June 17, 2021
4.5 - How to Become a Planet is a really beautiful Middle Grade novel that deals with mental health and being queer. After being diagnosed with depression and anxiety and missing the last month of 7th grade, Pluto is trying to prove to herself and her mom that she can go back to school in the fall and not have to move in with her dad.
I thought that the way that Pluto’s feelings were described painted a really vivid picture of what her depression and anxiety were like for her. This is a pretty heavy book, but I think it was balanced nicely with the plotline of Pluto making a new friend and the beginning of their romance.
This book really tugged at my heartstrings. It seems like a great book for younger readers to either see their experiences with mental health reflected back to them or to understand what their peers might be going through.
I thought that the way that Pluto’s feelings were described painted a really vivid picture of what her depression and anxiety were like for her. This is a pretty heavy book, but I think it was balanced nicely with the plotline of Pluto making a new friend and the beginning of their romance.
This book really tugged at my heartstrings. It seems like a great book for younger readers to either see their experiences with mental health reflected back to them or to understand what their peers might be going through.
June 30, 2021
Rep: sapphic mc with depression & anxiety, nonbinary li, sapphic side characters, side character with OCD
CWs: panic attacks
CWs: panic attacks
March 18, 2022
I needed a few days to process this book before I wrote a proper review
but god I really liked this book it reminded me so much of myself when I was in year 7 and even now
I loved the coming out part of it it felt so genuine and realistic and Pluto and Fallon are so perfect
the mental health aspect was written so well and perfectly encapsulated every emotion within having anxiety I could not stop crying
I just felt like it lacked some detail in the relationship/friendship area but still very good
please please please can someone read this book and tell me how you feel I wanna talk about it
also, i am very aware that this is meant to be a pre-teen/ kid book but I simply do not care
but god I really liked this book it reminded me so much of myself when I was in year 7 and even now
I loved the coming out part of it it felt so genuine and realistic and Pluto and Fallon are so perfect
the mental health aspect was written so well and perfectly encapsulated every emotion within having anxiety I could not stop crying
I just felt like it lacked some detail in the relationship/friendship area but still very good
please please please can someone read this book and tell me how you feel I wanna talk about it
also, i am very aware that this is meant to be a pre-teen/ kid book but I simply do not care
June 1, 2021
At first, I was on the fence about this book, I couldn't seem to find a way into it. Then, out of nowhere, as the story went on, it captivated me. Pluto's story is the most realistic depiction of living with depression and anxiety as a young teen that I've ever read; I saw my past in her story. I hope this book makes its way into the hands of the kids who need to read a story like Pluto's.
June 22, 2022
I know the path of dealing with depression is not a linear one, but I have to say that I was tired of Pluto's journey by the end of the book. I also wish that a budding romance hadn't been part of her recovery. There were signs of that coming, but I was still hopeful the story wouldn't go there.
August 26, 2021
This book really makes you think alot. If you are a person who litteraly (and metaphoracly) aims for the stars, you'll like this book, because it really makes you think. I liked this book because I am aiming for the stars( the planet mars).
Want to read
March 11, 2020I'm already crying now.
May 27, 2021
Read: May 2021
I was lucky enough to win an ARC of this middle-grade novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's been a while since I've read a middle-grade other than Rick Riordan, so this was a treat!
I don't know if I was just in a mood today or what, but this almost made me cry. I wasn't depressed in middle school, but I have dealt with it at different points since then and reading about Pluto going through depression AND all the regular anxieties surrounding being a pre-teen made my heart hurt.
The amount of support Pluto had was so, so important. Despite pushing people away and not knowing how to fix it, her mom and friends were still there for her. I also love that she found several adults to relate to.
The emphasis on astronomy made me happy! All the random facts that helped Pluto cope, the Hayden Planetarium (which I will visit someday!!) hotline, meteor showers 🌠, everything. Space has been one of my passions for years so finding characters with the same zeal is wonderful.
FALLON. Can I just say the way these two explore their identities and new feelings is so wholesome?? I didn't know this book would have LGBTQIAP+ rep and it was such a nice surprise. I'm so here for Pluto and Fallon evolving from friendship into something more.
CW: suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, being outed
I was lucky enough to win an ARC of this middle-grade novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's been a while since I've read a middle-grade other than Rick Riordan, so this was a treat!
I don't know if I was just in a mood today or what, but this almost made me cry. I wasn't depressed in middle school, but I have dealt with it at different points since then and reading about Pluto going through depression AND all the regular anxieties surrounding being a pre-teen made my heart hurt.
The amount of support Pluto had was so, so important. Despite pushing people away and not knowing how to fix it, her mom and friends were still there for her. I also love that she found several adults to relate to.
The emphasis on astronomy made me happy! All the random facts that helped Pluto cope, the Hayden Planetarium (which I will visit someday!!) hotline, meteor showers 🌠, everything. Space has been one of my passions for years so finding characters with the same zeal is wonderful.
FALLON. Can I just say the way these two explore their identities and new feelings is so wholesome?? I didn't know this book would have LGBTQIAP+ rep and it was such a nice surprise. I'm so here for Pluto and Fallon evolving from friendship into something more.
CW: suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, being outed
February 25, 2022
Summer break just started for Pluto Timmoney, but it hasn’t made much of a difference in her day-to-day life. This is because Pluto hasn't been to school in six months, ever since that night the night that ended up with her getting diagnosed with depression. Ever since then Pluto hasn’t been herself. She doesn’t want to go down to her family owned pizza shop to help out her mom, she doesn’t want to talk to anyone, she doesn’t want to eat, or take her medication, or even get out of bed. Pluto doesn’t even want to talk to her best friend, Meredith. But now summer break has started, and if she doesn’t get back to the old Pluto she is going to have to go live with her Dad in the city. Luckily Pluto has a plan: a checklist of things to complete by the end of the summer to show her mom she can be the old Pluto again, and a cute new friend to help her complete it.
I absolutely adored this book and highly recommend it for the classroom or just for your own pleasure reading! Pluto’s characterization is magnificent and the divorced family dynamic is very well represented. It also introduces students to topics like queer representation, various family dynamics, mental health, and therapy in very age appropriate ways. I would say this book is great for a reader in 4th through 6th grade if wanting to be on level, but recommend it to any who want a good read.
I absolutely adored this book and highly recommend it for the classroom or just for your own pleasure reading! Pluto’s characterization is magnificent and the divorced family dynamic is very well represented. It also introduces students to topics like queer representation, various family dynamics, mental health, and therapy in very age appropriate ways. I would say this book is great for a reader in 4th through 6th grade if wanting to be on level, but recommend it to any who want a good read.
March 12, 2021
This story follows a young girl named Pluto who has recently been diagnosed with depression. Pluto’s world had flipped upside down ever since. Not knowing how to deal with it, she ends up losing her friends, missing much of her school year, and doesn’t understand what’s happening with her. She ends up making a new friend, Fallon, who ends up motivating Pluto to complete her “list” of what she wants to complete this summer.
Throughout this story you feel really horrible for Pluto. She’s going through so much and it’s just a sad reality that many young people go through. Reading about it was definitely hard to get through, but I really enjoyed it all. It was so moving and inspiring.
What an accomplishment from Nicole Melleby. Her writing style was absolutely beautiful. I got through this so quickly because I couldn’t put it down. I felt like reading more and more. I definitely was unhappy towards the end because I didn’t want it to finish.
I really enjoyed this story. It’s a fun and enjoyable middle grade novel. It does deal with depression, which can be difficult to get through and read about Overall, I really enjoyed this!!
**Huge thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
Throughout this story you feel really horrible for Pluto. She’s going through so much and it’s just a sad reality that many young people go through. Reading about it was definitely hard to get through, but I really enjoyed it all. It was so moving and inspiring.
What an accomplishment from Nicole Melleby. Her writing style was absolutely beautiful. I got through this so quickly because I couldn’t put it down. I felt like reading more and more. I definitely was unhappy towards the end because I didn’t want it to finish.
I really enjoyed this story. It’s a fun and enjoyable middle grade novel. It does deal with depression, which can be difficult to get through and read about Overall, I really enjoyed this!!
**Huge thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
May 25, 2021
book is genuinely inspiring, fam; as a parent, I always fear my children’s health and especially with this pandemic. I spoke to my kids' pediatrician last week for my kids' annual check-up, where she emphasizes the importance of always talking to the kids and making sure that they can freely express how they feel as the pandemic have can affect their mental health. This book tells the journey of Pluto, who got diagnosed with depression, a very serious matter that can affect anyone.
I admire Pluto for being courageous in facing this journey; it's undoubtedly heartbreaking and overwhelming to read about a young girl struggling to find her way back to her old self and get free of this matter. The author did a fantastic job telling this story in a gentle, sensitive, and honest way. It is always beneficial for parents like me to educate ourselves by reading books that tackle real issues, and this one, without a doubt, I recommend. This book touches my heart and inspires me to be better.
I admire Pluto for being courageous in facing this journey; it's undoubtedly heartbreaking and overwhelming to read about a young girl struggling to find her way back to her old self and get free of this matter. The author did a fantastic job telling this story in a gentle, sensitive, and honest way. It is always beneficial for parents like me to educate ourselves by reading books that tackle real issues, and this one, without a doubt, I recommend. This book touches my heart and inspires me to be better.
April 28, 2022
that was quite incredible. I felt this book to my very core. however I don't particularly like the name Pluto. but wow that was excellent. shout out to charlotte and niamh for the wonderful recommendation.
October 1, 2021
** 4.5
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