Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house-and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw-Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and-most serious-civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves-during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen.

When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family.

The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement. Characters seem to default to white, with the occasional surname hinting at ethnic difference. Even though readers are transported to 1986, the characters’ social, emotional, and familial struggles will feel familiar and timely. Kelly writes a heartfelt story of family and the bond of siblings. Each chapter begins with a date in January 1986, then divides into short vignettes following each sibling on that day.

But when the Challenger disaster occurs, Bird finds herself in need of the support she’s been giving. Bird is enthralled with the space mission and decides she’s going to be a shuttle commander one day. It’s January 1986, and their teacher is gearing them up for the launch of the space shuttle Challenger. The Thomas household is toxic with their parents’ constant fighting, and Bird feels like she has to keep their family from malfunctioning altogether. Bird likes tinkering with machines but feels invisible. Fitch is good at video games but bad at controlling his temper. He isn’t good at anything, and now he’s repeating seventh grade with his two younger siblings. The Thomas siblings-13-year-old Cash and 12-year-old twins Fitch and Bird-all struggle to navigate the doubts of middle school and their dysfunctional family. Three siblings face their middle school problems as they learn about space.

We dream of space