Thank you to NetGalley, and Tsunami Press, for sending me an ARC for review purposes!

"Ride the Universe" was all about overcoming grief and growing up, as the main character With a family divided by the deep mourning over the loss of one of Teddy's sister, Teddy himself gets swept up in an adventure across the universe after an Egyptian amulet meddles with him. I love all things mythology-related, so I enjoyed the way we got to learn about Egyptian mythology as Teddy tries to find out more about his sister's death. The writing wasn't 100% my cup of tea, as sometimes the dialogues felt flat and more expositive than anything else, but I could still enjoy Teddy's story for the most part. In terms of the info-dumping on photosynthesis, I decided to interpret it as Teddy having an unusually strong interest about it?, so it didn't bother me as much either. As I hear this will be a series, I hope to see more character development for Teddy.

Comparing this book to A Wrinkle in Time and Sophie's World was the perfect sales pitch, but also a great recipe for bitter disappointment. My expectations were clearly way too high. I found the book to be far too patronizing, even for a child. I maybe would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't expecting some profound (or even particularly interesting) to happen.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

I unfortunately am not a fan of this one. I get that the point, or part of the point is a coming of age and overcoming grief. However most of this book read more like a crash course in middle grade science class, with a side of ancient Egyptian myth. The main issue I really had was the writing. It is really choppy, and the sentences just jump all over the place. The characters all felt very flat and one dimensional. Teddy, the main character, is inquisitive and honestly that's it, that's his whole personality. I think if there was more story, other than inner monologue about photosynthesis and light and mystic gems, I might have at least kind of enjoyed this.

Wow, this was quite a story. If you have kids that like science and history this book has a lot of both. Teddy and Tem are best friends and both of their Dads are scientist. Tem’s Dad is Egyptian and the boys found some stones hidden in his den. The stones really effected Teddy and his car seemed to be acting differently also.. The boys study and every time they can they take the “stones” and see what they do. I found this a fun book until the last couple chapters when it seemed to go totally imaginative but kids may enjoy them. This is a trilogy and I will read the next two books!! I recommend this book.

Teddy goes on a mystical journey to find his sibling who has died. Teddy uses and learns about scientific facts and colored amulets to go on a space journey that incorporates all the science that is needed to understand how light and color and the moon are where his sister is; that she is now part of the universe. This story is very creative but I felt that to a young reader they may find the scientific facts throughout the book too much like learning in science class. Unlike certain other YA science/space stories , religion is left out and maybe that is where my science knowledge does not coincide with my religious beliefs when it comes to death.

Teddy lost his older sister Jean when their father had a sailing accident. Jean’s twin sister is angry about the loss of her sister. She feels incomplete. His sister decides to spend time away from the family as she needs to reconcile the conflicts she has inside her. Teddy catches a baseball winning the Little League Championship. Somehow the light exposed how the ball would be hit by the bat and where the ball would land. Teddy is mystified by the moonlight as he and his dad spend time looking at the stars. As Teddy asks questions, his dad answers them. When Teddy meets up with Tem, they talk about stars and then light. Teddy has many questions still. However when Tem mentions his father’s hiding spot that hold amulets from the Egyptian past, Teddy wants to see them. They plan a time when Tem’s parents aren’t home. As they examine the amulets, one strikes a white light at Teddy. It makes him feel very warm and different. Both boys are more curious about the amulets and Egypt. Teddy asks for a book about Egypt from Tem’s father. He learns about Egypt’s gods and goddesses. With his sister at home, she asks if she can talk to him about her sister’s death. Will Teddy be able to help her? As Teddy learns more about light and photosynthesis, Teddy wants to see the amulets again. When Teddy sees them, he takes one home and the light/energy takes him out to the universe where he explores the planets and then out further until there is only darkness. Why does Teddy want to explore the universe? Will Teddy go back home?

The story is a combination of science fiction and fantasy. It discusses death and how it affects the family. Teddy not only develops much more science knowledge but also about his own spirituality. He begins his path to the period of his life known “coming of age.” He and his friend Tem were on an adventure that does not end at the end of the book. It’s a great adventure with secrets and surprises. I enjoyed Teddy’s ride in the universe. Such wonders are described perfectly.

This book gave me major Bridge to Terabithia vibes, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not quite yet. I'm still working on processing this entire book, there's a lot of different feelings it brings up. It's an odd comparison, but both the language and content seemed similar to me for some reason. The only difference is that this book came out in 2019 and that is considered a modern classic and every single kid I know has read it because of school.

One thing I personally wasn't a fan of was the dialogue in this one. It felt stunted at times, and the character's ages weren't altogether believable due to it. There were a fair amount of conversations that didn't flow properly simply because of the voice the author was using, but it's a fairly small nitpick. I also wasn't a fan of what felt like an information slog, dumps of what the majority of people already know that take away from the story in some places and seem to be just there to buffer length. I understand its place, to show Teddy's insatiable curiosity, but it was a little detracting from the story at places.

Ultimately, a decent book if fairly old feeling. It's cute, and there's definitely an audience for it. It says at the back that it's gonna be a trilogy, I hope the author keeps writing because it was a fun little adventure!

This is a pretty good book for a young person. It has metaphysical aspects and likeable characters and some mystery. There's a fair amount of explaining of science concepts and a decent plot. I'm a bit old for this but I think pre-teens would like this.

I really appreciate the review copy!!