“[Bird] knew many of them already—but the most fascinating fact was that there was no sound in space. Not really. […] As Ms. Salonga explained the process of sound and molecules, Bird snapped a picture together in her head like a puzzle. Then she imagined her brothers and parents inside a spaceship. And her: outside, floating. In silence.”

Bird Nelson Thomas is highly introspective, and her science class’s unit following the Challenger mission through the month of January is exciting for her because of her fascination with engineering and space travel. It is through the lens of her dreams of one day going into space herself that she perceives the events in her life unfolding over the course of the novel. When she feels alienated from others or gets the sense that she is becoming increasingly invisible, it is to the realm of outer space that she turns to make meaning and find answers.

“The Thomas family was like its own solar system. Planets in orbit. No, not planets. More like meteors or space junk. Floating objects that sometimes bumped or slammed into each other before breaking apart.”

Despite the close quarters in which they live in their modest house, Tammy and Mike Thomas and their children spend very little time together as a family, and when they do circumstances often devolve into disagreements or even arguments. Tammy and Mike are less involved in the lives of their children than most parents, only intervening when their children find themselves in trouble or request help directly. Each member of the family is absorbed in their separate interests and pursuits, coexisting rather than having a strong familial relationship.