Candace, the Universe, and Everything
by Sherri L. Smith
Middle School    Putnam    336 pp.
9/25    9781524737931    $18.99
e-book ed.  9781524737948    $10.99

Thirteen-year-old Candace has a lot to navigate. She is starting eighth grade, her besties are being weird, and, to make matters worse, a bird flies out of her locker. While cleaning up the mess the bird leaves behind, Candace finds a strange purple notebook on her locker shelf, and she eventually learns that her locker is a wormhole. This mysterious portal links her to two accomplished Black women who wrote in the notebook during their youth: Tracey, now a college professor in her forties; and Loretta, a quantum physicist who is now ninety-three. This speculative novel inventively blends a coming-of-age story with a cosmic adventure; it offers a unique exploration of Black girlhood and womanhood and of intergenerational relationships. Smith weaves together Candace’s, Tracey’s, and Loretta’s stories, with flashbacks to the 1940s and the 1980s. The characters’ interactions—in person in the present day, and in writing between eras—reveal how wisdom and curiosity flow in both directions. The shared, hands-on quest to understand the portal becomes a powerful example of scientific inquiry and collaboration. The narrative is a testament to the value of shared experience and knowledge, and the impact of Candace seeing herself reflected in the intelligent, accomplished women who have come before is profound. A compelling story of connectedness and the wonder of finding one’s place in the universe.

From the November/December 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.