Planet Earth Is Blue
Page 16
Nova has many sensory issues, which can make everyday life difficult, as sounds may be painful, clothing may be unbearably uncomfortable, and the textures of certain foods might cause anxiety. When Nova has her meltdown, it is because of a combination of emotional anguish and sensory overload; when she is upset, she has a more difficult time filtering out the agitating sounds around her. In 1986, it is possible that her reaction—hurting herself, screaming, flopping to the floor—would have been called a “fit” or “tantrum,” but I chose to have Francine identify it as a meltdown because I felt it was important for readers to understand that what Nova experienced was the result of being overstimulated and overwhelmed. It was not a tantrum.
One label that Bridget and Nova particularly dislike is “severely mentally retarded.” The diagnosis “mental retardation” was originally brought into use to replace other hurtful labels like “idiocy” starting around 1895, but over time came to be harmful in its own right. By the 1960s, “retarded” was used as both a diagnostic term and as an insult, and the two uses continued to overlap for over forty years. When Nova was twelve, “mentally retarded” would have been one of her official diagnoses, while “retard” would have been a cruel name for another kid to call her, as Carrot Krystle does during Home Ec.
It has taken a long time for the “R-word” to be replaced. In 1992, the Association for Retarded Citizens of the United States changed its name to the Arc of the United States. In 2007, the American Association on Mental Retardation was renamed the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. In 2010, President Obama signed Rosa’s Law, which mandated changing “mentally retarded” to “individuals with intellectual disabilities” within federal labor, health, and education documents. And finally, in 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was updated, reclassifying “mental retardation” as “intellectual disability,” though other terms like “cognitively delayed” and “developmentally delayed” are also in use today.
When I was little, I was labeled “particular,” “picky,” and a “space cadet” because of my vast and varied sensory issues, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and overactive imagination. It was not until adulthood that I was told (initially by a board-certified behavior analyst) that these traits combined with others could indicate Asperger’s, as the disorder often presents differently in girls than in boys (and had previously not been extensively studied in girls). When writing Nova, I based some of her spectrum behavior on myself, but I also made her nonverbal, a late reader, and unable to write, which greatly isolated her in the days before the electronic communication devices. Now, with the release of the DSM-5, which expanded the criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger’s is no longer its own diagnosis.
A lot of what we know about space has changed since 1986 too. For example, when Nova was in school, there were nine planets, but in 2006, Pluto’s status was downgraded, so today there are eight, and Neptune, which was thought to have two moons, actually has fourteen. We also have an International Space Station now, in which astronauts from the United States, Russia, Japan, and Europe continuously orbit the Earth, and in 2015 liquid water was discovered on Mars, though people can’t vacation there…yet!
Writing a book is a little like traveling to the moon—in both cases, without your crew to help and guide you, you’ll never get off the ground. I was therefore fortunate to have an amazing crew working with me to make Planet Earth Is Blue the best it could be.
At the start, there was Katy Loutzenhiser, my critique partner and author of If You’re Out There. Thanks for meeting me at cafés all over Brooklyn to write, vent, and consume too much caffeine. For the years of encouragement, beta reading, and/or patiently listening, thank you to Jennifer Kuhn, Dean Kubota, Candace Rosas, Tonya Brock, and Kris Allard.
I wouldn’t have been able to write much of anything without the support of my family. To my mom, Ann, for whom books are like Benadryl, thank you for almost making it through the whole first chapter before falling asleep and for sharing Book News with everyone in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary. A thousand thanks also go to my dad, Tim (who wants me to write his book next), and my brother, Tyler (who fed my vicious kitten, Shakespeare, when I was away), plus Meme, Pepe, Grandma, Abi, Amelia, Deb, and Loren. And to the seven incredible kids to whom this book is dedicated: a rainbow of emoji hearts.
To agent extraordinaire Katie Grimm, who said she cried and read the book in one sitting, I am so sorry for being so happy about making you cry! Thank you for helping me make Nova’s story tighter and richer and better. I genuinely couldn’t ask for—or imagine—a better agent.
My dream editor, as I told Katie, has long been Wendy Lamb, and I am beyond appreciative to Wendy and to assistant editor Dana Carey for their insight, inquiries, notes, and edits. The entire process has been incredible, and I am grateful to have had you both to work with (and guide me). Caroline Gertler and Sylvia Al-Mateen also made helpful suggestions.
Thank you to everyone at Wendy Lamb Books and Penguin Random House who helped bring Planet Earth Is Blue from a messy Word document to a real book, including designer Leslie Mechanic, cover artist Jungsuk Lee, reader Elena Meuse, and copy editors Barbara Perris, Colleen Fellingham, and Alison Kolani. For the use of lyrics from David Bowie’s song “Space Oddity,” thank you to Onward Music Ltd. in London and TRO Essex Music International, Inc., in New York.
I’m indebted to my early readers: Kathy Lundy, Lori Garrity, Amanda Pronovost, Jennifer John, Heather Craven, Alexa Dalpe, Steph Hebert, Amie Lynn Thompson, and Carolyn Hoye Hackett. I later turned the book over to tweens: Mackenzie Peloquin, Sophie Derman, and Meadow Sweet. Having them read Nova’s story for the first time was scary and exciting. Thank you to Beth Kirkonnell for helping with Buddy’s signs, and to my awesome PitchWars mentor, Ellie Terry, for helping me get Planet Earth Is Blue to a submission-worthy level. Through PitchWars, I was fortunate to connect with many incredible writers, including Cindy Baldwin, Amanda Rawson Hill, Helen Hoang, and Yael Mermelstein. Yael’s class was present in Florida for the Challenger launch and she saw the disaster firsthand; her feedback was invaluable.
I am also ever-grateful for my wonderful sensitivity readers who read for authenticity purposes, and thankful to those who work in the autism field and offered their feedback and guidance, including Connecticut-certified pre-K–12 special education teacher Kris Allard, who has been working with autistic students for twenty-five years, and board-certified behavior analyst Dr. Bob Worsham, who supplied information about how kids on the spectrum were taught in public schools back in 1986. Lily Koblenz, MD, was also very helpful. Several of my draft readers also work in the field of special education or are on the autism spectrum themselves.
I’d have never dreamed of being an author if not for the fantabulous English/writing teachers I’ve had from grade six through grad school: Mr. Weigel, Mr. Moody, Ms. Waters, Ms. Karro-Gutierrez, Mr. Martin, Dr. Chibeau, Lisa Rowe Fraustino, Nancy Ruth Patterson, and Amanda Cockrell, et merci à professeur de français Madame Rose pour Le Petit Prince.
Last, I want to recognize and remember the seven astronauts on board the Challenger in 1986: Christa McAuliffe, Dr. Ronald E. McNair, Dr. Judith A. Resnik, Francis R. Scobee, Gregory Jarvis, Ellison S. Onizuka, and Mike J. Smith, plus Dr. Sally K. Ride, who became the first American woman in space aboard Challenger in 1983 and later investigated the disaster.
“Space is for everybody.”
—CHRISTA MCAULIFFE
Nicole Panteleakos is a middle-grade author, playwright, and Ravenclaw whose plays have been performed at numerous theaters and schools in Connecticut and New York City. She earned her BA in theater scriptwriting from Eastern Connecticut State University and is working toward her MFA in children’s literature at Hollins University.
Prior to Hollins, Nicole was an instructor in an autism school in Connecticut, where she focused on teach
ing creative writing and helping kids with limited speech communicate. She volunteered at an autism center’s after-school program in Brooklyn, New York, worked at a weekend social program for NYC students on the spectrum, and did home care, including respite care for foster children. Though she based many of Nova’s qualities and quirks on herself as a tween, she was also inspired by the amazing kids she has cared for, including three fantabulous godchildren.
She travels often and has a cat named Shakespeare. Planet Earth is Blue is her debut novel.
Visit Nicole on Twitter at @NicWritesBooks or on her website, nicolepanteleakos.com.
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