Whoa! I was so impressed by Chasing the Milky Way. The first thing that caught my eye was the gorgeous cover, and then the synopsis totally cinched the deal. Every word kept me freaking out, but it was so beautifully written, I couldn’t help but feel right at home with Lucy, Izzy, and Cam. It’s one of those books I randomly decided to pick up in the library, but I’m so glad I did!

Title: Chasing the Milky Way
Author: Erin E. Moulton
Publisher: Philomel Books
Publication Date: June 12, 2014
Source: borrowed from the library (hardback)
Synopsis: In a book that pairs science with mental illness, and heart with adventure, Erin E. Moulton delivers a moving story about family, friendship and the lengths we go for the people we love.

Lucy Peevy has a dream–to get out of the trailer park she lives in and become a famous scientist. And she’s already figured out how to do that: Build a robot that will win a cash prize at the BotBlock competition and save it for college. But when you’ve got a mama who doesn’t always take her meds, it’s not easy to achieve those goals. Especially when Lucy’s mama takes her, her baby sister Izzy, and their neighbor Cam away in her convertible, bound for parts unknown. But Lucy, Izzy and Cam are good at sticking together, and even better at solving problems. But not all problems have the best solutions, and Lucy and Izzy must face the one thing they’re scared of even more than Mama’s moods: living without her at all.

I always love books that show a unique child’s perspective under serious circumstances. However, I was slightly surprised at how much Lucy (the main character, who is twelve years old), took control. I mean, she really had to be, because at times her mom could be a sorry excuse for a mother. And I mean that in the best way possible, because Lucy’s mom really did try. And I admit, I was pretty ticked off at her for the majority of the book, but she really came through. You could really tell Lucy and her mom both loved each other, and had a special bond.

The book did read a little slow for me at first. Once Lucy and her friend Cam are on their way to BotBlock (the robot competition they saved all year to enter – planning to use the money they win to save for college), I thought there would be more scenes at BotBlock, but most of the book was their journey TO BotBlock. (Side note: seriously, BotBlock is a total tongue twister!) The scenes were Lucy’s mom would get in one of her moods (good or bad) or hallucinate were intense, but some scenes in between were a little slow.

I did love all the descriptions and detail that went in to Lucy’s mom’s mental illness. This is one of the few books that I’ve read where the parent has a depression or something unbalanced in their mind, and it was so done so well. The thing is, Lucy’s mom’s lows are LOW, but her highs are also extremely HIGH. Both sides of her were equally touched on, so I could see her good and bad points. Lucy was angry with her mom at parts of the book – and I admit so was I! – but like I said, they both came through.

I will say it made me extremely grateful that I don’t have to remind my parents to take medicines so that I can go to school and not worry my mom will disappear, or she’ll forget to buy groceries. I was SO angry with Lucy’s mom… pretty much the entire book. And there were some parts when I was mad at Lucy, too – I was all “NO JUST ASK FOR HELP OMG YOU’RE JUST A KID.” Of course, that just made the story more realistic, but I was still mad. Like I said earlier, though, Lucy’s mom does come around, and you get to see all of her moods and see who she is when she’s on her medicines, being herself, and who she is when she’s not at her best point.

Also – BotBlock. I really liked reading about Cam and Lucy’s robot, PingPing200. How they began to make it, descriptions of what he looked like. PingPing was pretty much a character himself throughout the book, because the main goal in the story is to make it to BotBlock. And PingPing is there for the whole ride.

There’s so much more I could go on about – the worry about being taken away from their mom, the ending just being SO beautiful. It was an amazing story!

[box type=”warning”] There was some foul language in the book; on the following pages: 15, 17, 103, 121, 151, and 190.[/box]

Chasing the Milky Way gets four stars!

Have you read Chasing the Milky Way, or any books by Erin E. Moulton? Do you want to? Have you read any books where the parent has a mental illness?

Come back Wednesday for an interview with author of Chasing the Milky Way, Erin E. Moulton!