You're Welcome, Universe
Publisher
Alfred A. Knopf
Publication Year
2017
ISBN
9780399551413
Pages
297 pages
Genre
realism
Format
novel
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
When Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal) graffiti mural. Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a "mainstream" school in the suburbs, where she's treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her to give that up. Out in the 'burbs, Julia paints anywhere she can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon learns that she might not be the only vandal in town. Someone is adding to her tags, making them better, showing off--and showing Julia up in the process. She expected her art might get painted over by cops. But she never imagined getting dragged into a full-blown graffiti war.
Grade Level
6-8; 9-12
Lexile Measure
HL610L
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Racial Diversity; LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Disability and Health; Surrogacy; Interracial; Gay/Lesbian; Physical disability; sperm donation; sperm donor; interracial family; interracial parents; lesbians; lesbian mothers; same-sex marriage; deaf; deaf teenager; deaf adults; deaf mothers
Main Character
female teenager
Race/Ethnicities
Indian American
Family Formation
two mothers
LGBTQ+
lesbian females
Awards
Cybils Awards, 2017, Nominee, Young Adult Fiction
Schneider Family Book Award, 2018, Winner, Teen
Best Books for Teens, 2017
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2018 Ages 14 and Older
Keywords
graffiti; art; spray paint; new school; friendship; Bansky; competition; bullying; expulsion; lip reading
Diversity Impact
indirect
STARS Citation
Gardner, Whitney, "You're Welcome, Universe" (2017). Diverse Families. 1377.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/1377