We Dream of Space

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2020

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-10

Chapter 11-15

Chapters 16-20

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Character Analysis

Bernadette “Bird” Nelson Thomas

Seventh grader Bird is observant, empathetic, and highly conscious of the feelings of those around her. Bird is fascinated by mechanics and engineering, and keeps a notebook filled with her hand drawn, detailed schematics depicting the various appliances and devices she has taken apart in order to discover how they work. Bird is especially enthralled by the Challenger launch, because she dreams of becoming an astronaut. Bird yearns for guidance and support from the adults around her, and she has a special relationship with her teacher, Ms. Salonga, who recognizes Bird’s intellect and talents. Bird is also drawn to Judith Resnik, engineer and astronaut on the Challenger crew team, who Bird greatly admires and wishes to emulate one day in her future career at NASA.

Bird’s seventh grade year is characterized by two specific moments where she feels awkwardness which she takes to heart. First, Jessica Diaz leaves Bird feeling deflated when she tells Bird that she isn’t pretty like Judith Resnik. Second, at Jessica’s urging, Bird tells Devonte that she isn’t interested in him romantically only to learn that Devonte does not have a crush on her as Jessica suggested. Until seventh grade, Bird had not given any significant thought to her appearance, but she becomes preoccupied with the notion that she is plain and the difficulty of achieving her dream of becoming an astronaut.

The explosion of the Challenger is a significant trauma for Bird. After the disaster she becomes despondent and defeated, vowing to forgo any dreams or aspirations which might seem lofty for fear that she will continue to relieve disappointments and failures throughout her life unless she learns to expect very little.

Bird exerts considerable effort to maintain peace in her household, having developed a method of intervening in her parents’ arguments. Of all those that she is attuned to, Bird is especially focused on her brothers. She is always eager to share her interests with them, especially her schematics and the topics in science with which she happens to be enthralled at any given time. By the end of We Dream of Space, her brothers realize how affected she is by the Challenger disaster, and they begin to reciprocate the care that she has shown for them.

Henry “Fitch” Nelson Thomas

Bird’s twin and fellow seventh-grader Fitch struggles mightily with his temper; he is frequently frustrated with his peers and regularly struggles not to lash out at them. His difficulty regulating emotions dating back to his early childhood: He earned his nickname “Fitch” when he took a tantrum in a toy store and Bird observed “he’s really fitching a pit” (77). Readers understand that he restrains himself far more often than he reacts, but after his verbal outburst at Amanda, his classmates think that he is emotionally unstable, yet ironically worthy of admiration. He is frequently critical and disparaging toward his siblings, and sarcastic and standoffish with his parents.

Fitch’s favorite place is the local arcade, where he is happiest, especially when it isn’t crowded. His game is Major Havoc, a space-themed trackball adventure through a multilevel quest dedicated to destroying monsters while traveling in a spaceship. Fitch’s closest friend is Vern, who irritates Fitch considerably, and against whom Fitch directs most of his anger. When a classmate named Amanda Piper, who is collectively considered unattractive by the rest of the students at Park Middle School, appears to become interested in Fitch, Vern plays both sides of the interaction, making fun of Fitch for having attracted someone so undesirable while at the same time encouraging Amanda’s interactions with Fitch.

A pivotal moment for Fitch is when he loses his temper in the middle of Ms. Salonga’s science class and insults Amanda. Fitch’s heart is softened after this incident, and while he continues to struggle with his temper and his impulsivity, he is compelled to begin apologizing to those he hurts and taking responsibility for his role in some of the negative outcomes he faces, a change from his prior outlook. When the Challenger disaster occurs, Fitch who knows how invested his sister was in the space program and in that mission in general, feels a call to action to begin reaching out to and showing care and concern for his sister.

Thomas “Cash” Nelson Thomas

The eldest of the Nelson Thomas siblings, Cash feels stuck in limbo, forced to repeat the seventh grade while his peers prepare to attend high school in the fall. Cash enjoyed playing basketball but found that he failed to excel on the court. He had been coming to terms with the fact that he was spending a lot of time on the bench when his grades dropped low enough to exclude him from participating in sports. He feels the sense that he is being left behind by his former classmates, and concern over the fact that he believes that he has no area of aptitude.

He decides that he is going to try a multitude of activities until he finds something that he has the potential to excel at. Cash suffers from low self-esteem, as is evident when he goes to see his former basketball coach to ask if he might try track and field instead of basketball when his grades improve. He is surprised when his coach encourages him, and this opportunity to reengage in sports, which would also require an improvement in his grades for him to be eligible to play, inspires and motivates him.

Like Fitch, Cash is aware that the Challenger disaster will have a profound impact on their sister Bird, and he teams up with his brother to communicate to her that they are there for her. Cash, for his part, digs her schematics out of the trash and arranges them into a binder for her, knowing how much effort she put into them and how much they once meant to her, hoping that she will find renewed interest in them again.