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The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly Review: A Newbery-Winning Time Travel Triumph
The First State of Being is a Newbery Medal–winning middle-grade novel by Erin Entrada Kelly in which twelve-year-old Michael Rosario's life is upended when he meets a mysterious boy from the future. A New York Times bestseller and finalist for the 2024 National Book Award, it is designed to explore themes of friendship, found family, trust, and forgiveness through a time-travel framework — and has earned wide recognition as one of the standout children's books of its year.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Middle-grade readers aged ten and up — especially those who loved Hello, Universe — who want a high-concept time-travel story that puts friendship, found family, and emotional self-discovery front and centre.
Worth it if
The combination of a propulsive sci-fi premise and genuinely layered emotional themes — trust, forgiveness, first loves, and learning to live in the present — is exactly what you want from middle-grade fiction.
Skip if
Readers who pick up time-travel stories primarily for intricate world-building and hard science-fiction mechanics may find that the speculative elements are firmly in service of interpersonal themes rather than the other way around.
What readers & critics say
Common Sense Media describes it as a "truly endearing novel about accepting the unknown, friendship, and found family" with appeal even for readers who aren't sci-fi fans, praising Kelly's skill in creating believable characters and bringing heartfelt emotion to the story. BookBrowse surfaces a starred review from BookPage noting that Kelly "shines when acknowledging today's readers' justified fears while showing them that the key to surviving an uncertain road is traveling it in good company."
“This truly endearing novel about accepting the unknown, friendship, and found family has plenty of appeal even for readers who aren't sci-fi fans.”
— Common Sense Media4.6from 370 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Story Is About
- Its Place in Kelly's Career and the Genre
- Character Development and Voice
- Themes and Emotional Range
- Who Will Find It Most Rewarding
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Winner of the Newbery Medal and finalist for the 2024 National Book Award, with recognition from multiple respected best-of-year lists
- Praised by BookPage (starred review) for Kelly's skill at addressing young readers' real fears while grounding the story in the power of companionship
- Thematically layered — friendship, found family, first loves, trust, and forgiveness are woven into the time-travel premise rather than treated as background
- Kelly brings the same character-driven sensibility that distinguished her Newbery-winning Hello, Universe, giving the novel an established pedigree
- Designed for a broad middle-grade audience (ages 10+), with a premise accessible enough for reluctant readers and depth to reward thoughtful ones
What Doesn't
- Readers who prefer pure science-fiction world-building over character-focused emotional storytelling may find the time-travel mechanics secondary to the interpersonal themes
- As Kelly's second Newbery Medal win, comparisons to Hello, Universe are inevitable — readers expecting a radically different register from that earlier novel may find the emotional approach familiar
Erin Entrada Kelly's Newbery Medal–winning middle-grade novel earns every one of its accolades — a warmly constructed, thematically layered story that secures her place among the foremost voices writing for young readers today.
The First State of Being: Friendship, Family and Time Travel Collide by Erin Entrada Kelly front cover
What the Story Is About
At the center of The First State of Being is twelve-year-old Michael Rosario, whose world shifts permanently the moment he encounters a boy who has arrived from the future. From that collision of timelines, Kelly builds a narrative that the publisher describes as a story of "time travel, friendship, found family, and first loves." The novel's central engine is not simply the science-fiction premise but what that premise makes possible: an exploration of family bonds, the mechanics of trust, and what it means to forgive — both others and oneself. Kelly frames these emotional stakes against the time-travel conceit in a way that sources consistently describe as thematically rich, allowing the fantastical element to amplify rather than overshadow the human questions at its core.
“voice, character development, setting, and exploration of the issues that resonate with middle grade readers.”
Its Place in Kelly's Career and the Genre
Kelly arrived at this novel already carrying rare distinction. She previously won the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and received a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space — a track record that makes The First State of Being her second Newbery Medal win, a remarkable achievement in children's literature. The novel was also named a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award and is a New York Times bestseller, confirming its reach beyond the awards circuit. Recognition from the ALA Notable Book for Children list, the Chicago Public Library's Best Fiction for Older Readers of 2024, the 2025 Excellence in Children's and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable List, and best-of-year selections from BookPage, Shelf Awareness, and Common Sense Media further establish it as a consensus landmark of its publication year. For readers who track the middle-grade genre, this is a novel that arrived with — and has sustained — serious critical momentum.
Character Development and Voice
The sources that describe the novel's literary qualities converge on a few consistent strengths. The book is characterized, in the publisher's framing, by its "voice, character development, setting, and exploration of the issues that resonate with middle grade readers." BookBrowse notes that the novel reminded one reader why Kelly's earlier Newbery winner connected so deeply, and that this time-travel story "did the trick" in a way that many middle-grade novels since had not. A starred review from BookPage, as excerpted in available sources, observes that Kelly "shines when acknowledging today's readers' justified fears while showing them that the key to surviving an uncertain road is traveling it in good company" — a line that captures Kelly's particular gift for meeting young readers where their anxieties actually live, rather than smoothing them away.
Themes and Emotional Range
What distinguishes The First State of Being from a purely plot-driven adventure is the breadth of emotional territory it covers. Friendship, found family, first loves, trust, and forgiveness are not decorative themes appended to a time-travel chassis — they are, per the record, the novel's primary concerns. Kelly structures the story so that the relationship between Michael and the boy from the future becomes a lens through which each of those themes is examined. The BookPage starred review's observation — that the novel's insight is that uncertain roads become survivable in good company — points to an emotional philosophy running beneath the speculative mechanics. This dual register, adventure premise carrying serious interior weight, is consistent with Kelly's approach in her earlier celebrated work.
Who Will Find It Most Rewarding
The First State of Being is designed for readers ages ten and up, with a grade-level range of three through seven, placing it squarely in the middle-grade sweet spot where readers are old enough to engage with emotional complexity but still drawn to the energy of a high-concept premise. Readers who responded to Hello, Universe or We Dream of Space will find Kelly's sensibility — her interest in character over spectacle, in belonging and forgiveness as genuine stakes — fully present here. The combination of a grounded emotional core with time-travel adventure makes it equally well suited to reluctant readers who need narrative momentum and to thoughtful readers who want something to sit with after the final page. This review is based on the book's content and published critical reception; hands-on assessment of the reading experience is left to the reader.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The First State of Being worth reading?
The review describes it as earning every one of its accolades, calling it a warmly constructed, thematically layered story. LuvemBooks notes that the novel's emotional depth and high-concept premise work together rather than in tension, making it a rewarding read for a wide range of middle-grade audiences.
Who is the target audience for The First State of Being?
The book is designed for readers ages ten and up, with a grade-level range of three through seven, placing it squarely in the middle-grade sweet spot. The review notes it suits both reluctant readers who need narrative momentum and thoughtful readers who want something to sit with after the final page.
Is The First State of Being good value at $7.29?
At $7.29, the review positions this as an exceptional value given the book's status as a two-time Newbery Medal winner, a National Book Award finalist, and a New York Times bestseller. The breadth of critical recognition — from the ALA Notable Book list to best-of-year selections from BookPage and Shelf Awareness — supports the case that the book delivers well beyond its price point.
What are the main themes in The First State of Being?
The review identifies friendship, found family, first loves, trust, and forgiveness as the novel's primary concerns — not decorative themes but its central emotional stakes. Kelly uses the time-travel premise as a lens through which each of these themes is examined, with the relationship between Michael and the boy from the future at the core.
How does the book handle the theme of forgiveness?
According to the review, forgiveness — both of others and of oneself — is one of the novel's central emotional concerns. Kelly structures the story so that the fantastical time-travel element amplifies rather than overshadows these human questions, giving forgiveness genuine narrative weight rather than treating it as a side note.
What is the plot of The First State of Being?
The story centers on twelve-year-old Michael Rosario, whose world shifts permanently when he encounters a boy who has arrived from the future. The publisher describes it as a story of time travel, friendship, found family, and first loves, with the science-fiction premise serving as a vehicle for exploring family bonds, trust, and forgiveness.
How does the time-travel element work in the story?
The review notes that the time-travel conceit is not the novel's central engine but rather what it makes possible — an exploration of emotional and relational themes. Kelly frames the fantastical element so that it amplifies rather than overshadows the human questions at the story's core, using it as a structural lens rather than a spectacle.
Who is Michael Rosario?
Michael Rosario is the twelve-year-old protagonist at the center of The First State of Being. His encounter with a boy who has arrived from the future sets the novel's events in motion and serves as the primary relationship through which the book's themes of friendship, trust, and forgiveness are explored.
What is the writing style like in The First State of Being?
The review highlights Kelly's particular gift for meeting young readers where their anxieties actually live, rather than smoothing them away. A starred review from BookPage, cited in the review, observes that Kelly shines when acknowledging today's readers' justified fears while showing them that the key to surviving an uncertain road is traveling it in good company.
How does The First State of Being compare to Hello, Universe?
The review notes that BookBrowse found this novel reminded one reader why Kelly's earlier Newbery winner, Hello, Universe, connected so deeply, and that the time-travel story did the trick in a way that many middle-grade novels since had not. Readers who responded to Hello, Universe will find Kelly's sensibility — her interest in character over spectacle and in belonging and forgiveness as genuine stakes — fully present here.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Further reading
- 5
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