Liberty Johansen loves looking for new patterns in the night sky. Until the year that everything goes wrong and she can’t see her sky pictures anymore. Her dad moves out and doesn’t seem to want to see her. Kids at school are being unkind. But mostly, Liberty feels like her sky is falling and nothing will seem right again.
Through artful and age appropriate storytelling, King presents an interesting perspective on depression. She explores dealing with a parent with depression as well as a teen experiencing depression herself. Liberty’s experience is realistic and sincere, without being overwhelming. The Year We Fell From Space is a good book for children who might experience depression and need to know they aren’t crazy and they are not alone. The main character is twelve and I would put that as a good audience for this book. However, I would also suggest reading together as a family to discuss some of the heavy points.