MARZ STARCHILD

Segarra-Orenstein presents an illustrated middle-grade novel about a young genius on an amazing extra-dimensional adventure.

As the story opens, ninth grader Marcella Josefina “Marz” Sidrais making her way to her home in Brooklyn. In some ways, Marz is an average kid who enjoys stylish hair clips and has homework that needs doing, but in others, she’s exceptional: a creative soul and inventor who transforms found objects into “something unique.” In this pursuit, she’s encouraged by Carmen, the owner of her favorite Fishbowl Café: “Never underestimate your ability to make big changes in the world,” she tells the teen. One of those potential tools for change is in Marcella’s attic at home (her “creative hub,” known as the Marzelab); it’s an invention she calls the Realm Portal (RP), which is the size of a Rubik’s Cube and is made from meteorite residue and rare earth metals she scrounged from cell phones. She’s hoping to use the RP as a gateway to other dimensions, so she’s intrigued when the device unexpectedly turns on and starts beeping. Later, “a glowing whirlpool” appears, putting her in contact with strange beings who claim to be from Proxima Centauri; she soon wonders if they’re connected with a story Carmen tells her about her own girlhood, when she and Marz’s grandmother encountered a glowing extraterrestrial “angel” at the Arecibo Observatory in their native Puerto Rico; the being gave them each a special pendant. Marz is now in possession of her grandmother’s pendant, and it’s central to the ensuing adventure, which brings her all the way to another planet to meet the same beings who contacted her grandmother all those years ago.

In buoyant prose and lively dialogue (assisted by Ram’s occasional appealing grayscale illustrations), Segarra-Orenstein crafts a peppy adventure story with an appealing and well-developed central character. Marz is a relatable protagonist who’s extremely capable but also fallible. The author comfortably situates her as part of a large extended family who live in homes with warm kitchens, full of fragrant dishes from Puerto Rico. At the heart of the story is the unconditional love of her family members, portrayed in terms that are glowing but also realistic; Marz is very much aware of how strict her mother can be, for instance, while her father can be relied upon to give her no-nonsense advice (“Popularity doesn’t solve your issues,” he tells her at one point; “it postpones them”). Likewise, Marz’s diverse friends love her and treat her as a peer. The book has playful references to the many amazing inventions Marz has cobbled together from random repurposed elements, in part inspired by the achievements of her role model: Erika Douglas, the founder of a company called Habitable Extraterrestrial Research and Analysis. Segarra-Orenstein smoothly and naturally embeds the adventure of Proxima Centauri into a long-standing secret in Marz’s family, which, in turn, affectingly connects her with her late grandparent. Quirky, referential humor is sprinkled throughout the book, as when Marz, while traveling though dimensions, thinks “I’m certainly not in Brooklyn anymore!”

An energetic and winning SF tale of a brilliant young New Yorker.