The Losers at the Center of the Galaxy

by Mary Winn Heider

Overview

A tuba player without a tuba and his jellyfish-imitating sister cope with their father's disappearance in this hilarious and moving novel by the author of The Mortification of Fovea Munson. 

When Lenny Volpe, former quarterback of the worst professional football team in the nation, leaves his family and disappears, the Chicago Horribles win their first game in a long time. Fans are thrilled. The world seems to go back to normal. Except for the Volpe kids.

Winston throws himself into playing the tuba, and Louise starts secret experiments to find a cure for brain injuries, and they're each fine, just fine, coping in their own way. That is, until the investigation of some eccentric teacher behavior and the discovery of a real live bear paraded as the Horribles' new mascot make it clear that things are very much Not Fine. The siblings may just need each other, after all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759555426
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

A graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program, Mary Winn Heider is the author of The Mortification of Fovea Munson. She lives in Chicago, where she acts in plays, rides her bike, and works for The Mystery League. You can visit her online at marywinnheider.com.

Editorial Reviews

02/15/2021

Two years ago, Lenny Volpe disappeared. The much-hated former quarterback for the Chicago Horribles, whose repeated concussions from playing caused traumatic encephalopathy, also happens to be Winston and Louise’s father. Ever since then, Winston, now an eighth grader at Subito School, has resisted “dying from loneliness” thanks to two things: his tuba, and his friend Frenchie LeGume, a fellow tuba player who has vitiligo. Suspecting that their teachers are part of a criminal ring, Frenchie has enlisted Winston to help investigate. Seventh grader Louise, meanwhile, lives for Science Club despite its annoying members; for the past two years, she has been “working on a cure for brain injuries.” But Louise now has an additional mission: rescuing the newest attraction at Horribles games, a caged bear that paces on the sidelines and which reminds her of their dad’s constant pacing before he left. Hurt by their father’s absence as well as their mother’s seeming indifference toward them, the Volpe siblings are relatable as they shut each other out; their journey toward reconnecting is well worth the ride. Heider skillfully interweaves seemingly disparate threads into this character-centered, heartfelt story, culminating in a satisfying conclusion. Ages 8–12. Agent: Tina Dubois, ICM Partners. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"[T]he Volpe siblings are relatable as they shut each other out; their journey toward reconnecting is well worth the ride. Heider skillfully interweaves seemingly disparate threads into this character-centered, heartfelt story, culminating in a satisfying conclusion."

—Publishers Weeklly

* "Readers will be hard put to judge whether which is more entertaining—the plot or the cast—but between the two there’s never a dull moment. A buoyant ending leaves Winston, Louise, and the bear (who even gets a POV turn in one chapter) in better places."

—Booklist

* "This tender, wacky, and often humorous story will be enjoyed by all middle grade readers. Librarians looking for books on unique and timely health topics in fiction should consider this title."

—School Library Journal, starred review

"This is a story about teamwork in every sense of the word. It touches on how important it is to work together, support each other, and to ask for help when needed."

—School Library Connection

"Offbeat and poignant, this is a healing balm for living in an imperfect galaxy."

—Kirkus

Praise for The Mortification of Fovea Munson:
An Indies Introduce middle grade debut pick
A Kids' Indie Next List pick

"Equal parts screwball comedy, coming-of-age story, and tearjerker-I loved, loved, loved it!"—Varian Johnson, author of The Parker Inheritance

"Sure to tickle the most fickle funny bone."—Kirkus Reviews

"I absolutely adore this book! The Mortification of Fovea Munson is not only hilariously zany, and clever, it's also full of heart. Mary Winn Heider is a brilliant new voice in kid's books."—Newbery Award winner, Matt de la Peña

"Fovea is a normal girl existing in a suddenly off-kilter world, and her struggle to help her family and newfound friends is relatable and satisfying."—Publishers Weekly

"Hilarious and disgusting in equal measure. In other words, exactly what you've been waiting for."—Adam Gidwitz, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Inquisitor's Tale

From the Publisher

★ 01/01/2021

Gr 3–7—It is well documented that repeated head trauma received in sports such as football can cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disorder that affects many athletes for the rest of their lives. The condition is dramatized in this touching book chronicling the upended lives of Louise and Winston Volpe. Their father, Lenny Volpe, a former quarterback for the fictional football team the Chicago Horribles, had the disease and disappeared from home one day, never to be found. The children are left to their own devices by their hardworking mother, a real estate agent, and grief over the loss of their father and husband remains unspoken among the three of them. Louise dedicates her efforts to finding a cure for CTE with her science club while simultaneously trying to save a captive bear, and Winston (along with his fellow tuba-playing friend, Frenchie) gets caught up in the mysterious behavior of their middle school teachers. The chapters alternate between Louise and Winston, creating two subplots that dovetail at the end of the book. Readers who have family members with chronic illnesses, or who have lost a parent, will relate to the story of this brother-sister duo who work through the grief in the best ways they can. VERDICT This tender, wacky, and often humorous story will be enjoyed by all middle grade readers. Librarians looking for books on unique and timely health topics in fiction should consider this title.—Anne Jung-Mathews, Plymouth State Univ., NH

School Library Journal

2020-12-15
Winston and Louise have been in different orbits since their football player dad, who suffered from brain damage, went missing two years ago.

Lenny Volpe had been a quarterback for the Chicago Horribles. His favorite place was the 50-yard line, which he called the center of the galaxy. Winston and Louise haven’t been back to the stadium since attending a failed police press conference there. Grief-stricken, Winston fills the loss with music, specifically playing his tuba in the school band; Louise deals with it by trying to find a cure for brain injuries involving jellyfish and bioluminescence. Winston is only partially distracted from tuba when he notices odd and suspicious behavior by his teachers. Louise, absorbed by her research, is surprised to find room to fangirl wildly popular, civic-minded pop star Kittentown Dynamo and become an animal activist set on rescuing the bear that is the Horribles’ new mascot. There is a distinct Daniel Pinkwater tang to this tale of misfit siblings and their unusual circumstances. The story is interspersed with tender memories of their father, both the great dad he was and the confused person he became. The disparate strands come together in a surreal crescendo at the stadium that leaves Winston and Louise better centered than they have been for years. The book features a default White cast.

Offbeat and poignant, this is a healing balm for living in an imperfect galaxy. (Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews