Grace Needs Space! - by Benjamin A Wilgus & Rii Abrego

About the Book

Grace's excitement to accompany her "fun" mom on delivery to Titan quickly turns to frustration when her mom is too preoccupied with her mission to spend time with Grace, yet when their ship stops working on their return home it's up to Grace to save the day.

Book Synopsis

To the moon and back! A sci-fi middle-grade graphic novel about a young girl's long-awaited summer trip across space with one of her moms. But when her relationship with her mom goes sideways, so does her trip. Will Grace be able to save her summer vacation before it ends?

Grace is SO EXCITED to fly a freighter from her home space station (and away from her BORING mother Evelyn) to a faraway moon! Plus, she'll get some quality time with her FUN mom Kendra--something Grace definitely needs. Finally, a real adventure that Grace can get excited about while the rest of her space station friends go away for their summer vacations.

But when Kendra is too focused on work, Grace's first big trip suddenly becomes kind of lonely. Grace had so many plans for fun. But all it takes is one quick decision to explore the moon by herself before Grace's adventure suddenly becomes not so out of this world at all. With her mom mad at her, Grace wants nothing more than to return home. Then their ship breaks down. Will Grace be able to get through to her mom and save their trip in the end?

Review Quotes

★ "A genuine thrill. Perfect for kids who loved Jennifer L. Holm's Lion of Mars." --Booklist, starred review

"The sci-fi setting creates high stakes for this realistic story of a tween ready for adventure, navigating her relationships with separated parents.'"--School Library Journal

"A tender story that explores the complexity of familial bonds as deftly as it does the outer regions of space."--Kirkus Reviews

"Though the story takes place among the cosmos, the earthly truths surrounding love and connection proves artfully rendered." --Publishers Weekly

"A relatable and amusing story for all ages." --Shelf Awareness

About the Author

Benjamin A. Wilgus is a cartoonist and writer of comics and prose, including Chronin, a graphic novel duology from Tor Books. He has also written two works of graphic nonfiction for First Second Books: Flying Machines: How the Wright Brothers Soared, illustrated by Molly Brooks, and The Mars Challenge, illustrated by Wyeth Yates.

Rii Abrego is a Latina illustrator and comic artist who resides in the very humid southern United States. Rii has provided work for Random House, Oni Press, BOOM! Studios, Lion Forge, OMOCAT, Harmonix, Kazoo magazine, Ascend Comics, and Power & Magic Press, among others. She is the illustrator of the graphic novel The Sprite and the Gardener, co-written with Joe Whitt and published by Oni Press.