In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. Jessica Walker discusses The Secret Astronomers in this latest installment.

1. Congrats on your YA debut! How would you describe your book to readers?
Thank you so much! If I had to describe The Secret Astronomers using only words that start with the letter “A” (for no apparent reason), I would include: Appalachia, Aliens, Acceptance, Alliances, Assumptions, A-hillbilly-meets-woke-mystery-that-unites-two-anonymous-teens-in-a-most-unlikely-friendship-built-on-passing-notes-inside-a-long-forgotten-library-book.

2. What drew you to YA to tell this story?
In an authorial sense, I don’t think I’ve matured much past the age of 15. My own young adult years continue to inspire, humor, and haunt me in ways that just seem to make sense as stories.

3. What, if anything, surprised you while writing it?
I would have never thought in a million years that I, a horrible speller with a short attention span, would write a book. Illustrate a book? No prob, Bob. Write one? Never! What a wonderful surprise to now know that I can write a book (if it’s also heavily illustrated).

4. Tell us more about the characters. Which character do you most identify with and why?
I’m 50 percent Kepler and 50 percent Copernicus. What you may be reading is a version of my internal dialogue as a kid from rural Virginia who moved to San Francisco as a defiant, freewheeling 18-year-old. Remember that moment in The Flight of the Navigator when the alien telepathically beckons David to board the ship? That’s exactly what California did to me. As a young adult, I wanted to be Copernicus—progressive, cosmopolitan, vegetarian. But the funny thing about being far from home for the first time is realizing that where you’re from is also unique, complex, and beautiful. My inner Kepler reminds me that distance and time always offer new perspectives on the things we thought we knew.

5. What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
I was partly inspired to write the book because we seem to be living through a moment of extreme polarization, when the media wants to dictate who we’re allowed to agree with and what we’re allowed to like. I hope the characters in this book challenge us to be open to greater possibilities, maybe even interstellar ones. Perhaps if we take the time to get to know one another through our unique stories, we just might start to appreciate the depth and nuance of our common human experience. It’s worth a shot!

The Rec: Finally, we love YA and recommendations—what’s your favorite YA book you've read recently?
Although it's from all the way back in 2014, I recently read Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki’s graphic novel, This One Summer. It’s a coming-of-age story about two girls who meet up once a year at their respective family's lake house and have a special “camp friend” vibe with one another. I had tears in my eyes at the end of the story, but upon turning to the final page, the very last words of the book made me laugh out loud! It’s an amazing low-stakes rollercoaster and is so thoughtfully and beautifully illustrated. Please run to the library right now and get it!  

Jessica Walker is a multidisciplinary artist, illustrator, filmmaker, and educator. She is an assistant professor of fine arts at Parsons and has exhibited films, books, and 2D media in solo and group shows in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Australia.