This month’s Author Spotlight is on Pura Belpré Honoree and Edgar Award Winner, Adrianna Cuevas. Adrianna joins us to discuss her new book, What Fell From The Sky, an out-of-this-world middle grade adventure based on true historical events.
What Fell From The Sky is set in 1951, and specifically references Operation Long Horn, a real military exercise in 1952. What about this time and place in history spoke to you as inspiration for this story?
Adrianna Cuevas: I love little-known historical events, particularly ones with high potential for chaos. Operation Long Horn is a piece of Texas history that even many Texans are unaware of. I knew a town experiencing a large-scale military exercise was the perfect backdrop for me to let my characters run loose and have an adventure.
Also, the more I researched, the more I knew setting a story during Operation Long Horn in 1952 rural Texas would actually allow me to discuss themes that are relevant today with young readers—how we welcome newcomers, who we consider outsiders, how we allow our government to treat us.
Something we love about this book is how much it keeps its humor, even when dealing with difficult themes of discrimination and fear. How did you find the character’s voices? How did you balance the humor and silliness of kids with the difficult realities you were exploring in this book?
Adrianna: As a middle school teacher, I’m surrounded by humor and silliness every day. One of my favorite things about teaching middle school and writing for that age is students’ capacity to have deep conversations about fairness and justice one moment and then crack the most bonkers joke the next moment. It wasn’t difficult to reflect this kind of behavior in my characters.
As an author, I also know that young readers sometimes need a moment to breathe after high-tension scenes. Incorporating humorous moments throughout a story gives a reader a break. It also shows kids that it’s okay to laugh when you’re scared!
What message do you hope young readers take away from this story? What parts of Pineda, Luisa, and Shipley’s experiences are universal or still relevant today?
Adrianna: My primary goal with all of my stories is for readers to be entertained and to enjoy themselves. I hope they root for Pineda and Luisa, and get lost in their adventure. At the same time, readers who feel different or new to an environment may experience a special kinship to Pineda and Luisa. Perhaps a student will be more empathetic toward a classmate who is learning English after reading about Luisa’s experience or befriend a student who feels out of place after reading about Corporal Shipley.
At the end of the book, Pineda wishes that the next time a newcomer arrives in Soledad, they’ll be welcomed with open arms. It’s also my hope, particularly in light of current events, that readers will be more compassionate toward immigrants and more understanding of their plight.
Can you share a teacher or librarian who has inspired you?
Adrianna: Every Texas teacher and librarian facing book challenges this school year inspires me as they continue to speak up and fight for what is best for students. Our state government and school boards continue to pass policies which make book access more difficult and yet these passionate educators don’t back down. They inspire me every day to continue telling my stories.
What book made you a reader?
Adrianna: It’s difficult to single out one particular book since I had weekly trips to Miami-Dade County libraries where I left with armfuls of books as a child. But I do remember becoming obsessed with an illustrated anthology of Edgar Allen Poe short stories and poems. I loved the visceral emotions, the beautiful language, and the high tension. The disgusting paintings splattered throughout the pages didn’t hurt either and sparked my early love of horror.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adrianna Cuevas is a middle school ESOL teacher who currently resides outside of Austin, Texas with her husband and son. When not cheering for the Florida Panthers hockey team, listening to audiobooks at 2.3x speed, and crocheting blankets too warm for Texas heat, she is writing her next middle grade novel.
ABOUT THE BOOK
What Fell From The Sky by Adrianna Cuevas
Ages 8-12
From Pura Belpré Honoree and Edgar Award Winner Adrianna Cuevas comes an out-of-this-world middle grade adventure, based on true historical events, perfect for fans of The Goonies and Stranger Things.
All Pineda Matlage wants is to get through the school year and maybe pull an epic prank or two with his friends Junior, Ernesto, and Patsy. But class is disrupted when a slew of American soldiers descends upon their rural Texan town of Soledad. They’ll be carrying out a training exercise and taking over everything, from Pineda’s school to the local government.
But Pineda knows why they’re really here. For days he’s hidden the strange creature who fell from the sky in his parents’ barn. He promised her he’d find her family and help them return home. But with soldiers now on every street corner and armed checkpoints across every road, reuniting his new friend with her missing parents seems an impossible task. Especially when they realize that the army’s presence is really a coverup for capturing his alien friends—being observed in a laboratory by the US government for reasons of their own.
Enlisting the help of his friends, a Black soldier adjusting to a newly integrated army, and townspeople tired of the military’s destructive presence, Pineda and all of Soledad will embark on an adventure none of them could have ever expected.
PRAISE FOR WHAT FELL FROM THE SKY
Praise for What Fell From the Sky:
Historical realism blends with thrilling sci-fi to deliver a story that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.” —School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Via alternating first-person POVs…Cuevas (The No-Brainer’s Guide to Decomposition) clearly juxtaposes real-life happenings with the protagonist’s science fiction adventures.” —Publishers Weekly
“Tackling serious topics, this moving novel shows how lack of respect for differences can end in disaster, and that viewing them with an open heart and mine can make us all stronger.” —The New York Times
“A story of friendship, identity, and courage showing that even one voice can spark resistance.” —Kirkus
“[…] readers looking for a less creepy, far funnier version of Stranger Things will find it with Pineda and Luisa.” —BCCB
“In a world where we’re constantly getting told that it’s us vs. them, Cuevas shakes up true history by getting us all to root for the chickens, aliens, and pie-baking ladies.” —Andrea Beatriz Arango, author of the Newbery Honor winner Iveliz Explains It All and the Pura Belpré honor winner Something Like Home
“What Fell From the Sky is the perfect blend of middle grade voice, memorable characters, and spine-chills—of real Cold War history, Stranger Things, and E.T. Like all of Cuevas’ books, it is brimming with charm, thrills, and whacky adventure. Readers will easily connect with Pineda and be delighted by the peril that falls from the sky!” —Sarah Allen, author of What Stars Are Made Of and Monster Tree
“With tons of humor, the author paints a vivid picture of small-town life in 1952 with its fears and prejudices… The author has crafted a clever plot so that when the final scene happens, it plays as beautifully as a Steven Spielberg movie, only with whacky twists that are just right.” —Historical Novels Review
