How to Become a Planet

Wr. Nicole Melleby

Pub. Algonquin Young Readers (June 2021)

Age Range - 9-12 years

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.

"...without a doubt the most powerful MG book I've ever read."

First, a confession. I had no idea what this book was going to be about, and I made a judgement about it based on its cover (which apparently is frowned upon). But I was right. I read it in two sittings, broken only by sleep. The story of Pluto is unflinching in its portrayal of depression, and it is without a doubt the most powerful MG book I've ever read. The word "unputdownable" gets banded around a lot, but How to Become a Planet is exactly that.

The book opens with astronomy-obsessed Pluto calling the Hayden Planetarium Astronomy Question and Answer Hotline, and this becomes a through-line in the book. Pluto asks how to create a black hole, whether people born with the Cancer constellation sign have panic attacks a lot, how long it took the scientists to decide Pluto should not be a planet...all questions which relate to Pluto's innter turmoil. It's a lifeline as much as it's a hotline.

She wished the Hayden Planetarium Astronomy Question and Answer Hotline had answered her question months ago and told her how to create a black hole so she could fall into it.

Of course, Pluto doesn't get the answers she's looking for, because this isn't a book about easy fixes, and those phone calls are a hint that you aren't going to get a fairytale happy ending. Pluto grapples with understanding her depression, with the awareness that she isn't the same girl she once was - "I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t know what makes me Pluto anymore" - and she frames her experience in references to space and astronomy...

She reached for her brand-new book, too, the one about the Challenger sitting on her desk next to her mom’s old computer, the one her dad had sent to try to make her feel happy, which was ridiculous, really. The Challenger was a tragedy, and Pluto had enough of her own sadness lately.

How to Become a Planet does an admirable job of presenting mental illness from the child's perspective. It doesn't gloss over it or sugarcoat it: the adults in Pluto's life make mistakes; Pluto's friends struggle to understand and accept her; the impact depression and anxiety have on Pluto is raw and unflinching. It's a powerful novel. Front and centre, the book is about Pluto's journey towards understanding herself, but it is also about other people learning to understand her. I can't recommend it highly enough.

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If you like this, try

Felix Ever After

(wr. Kacen Callender)

A story about identity, love, and the struggle of self-discovery. Felix worries that he's one marginalisation too many - black, queer and transgender - to ever get his own happily-ever-after.

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themes in the novel

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These are some of the themes I was drawn to. Given the tender nature of the story, this list also serves as a trigger warning.

• Depression & Anxiety. Pluto has just received this diagnosis when the story opens.

• OCD. Pluto's father's girlfriend has OCD.

• Parental separation. Pluto's parents have separated - largely amicably - and there is some tension around who Pluto should live with in order to received the best care.

• Queer representation. A lesbian couple (won't say who, cos spoilers!), with other suggested LGBTQ+ characters (won't say who, cos spoilers!).