Planet Earth Is Blue

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2019

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-10

Chapters 11-13

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Moon

Going to the moon became Nova and Bridget’s favorite way to distract themselves from their life’s painful realities; the moon thus symbolizes safety for Nova. On the day that Nova and Bridget were removed from their mother’s custody, the girls hid in a closet, pretending that they were blasting off to the moon. Just as their mother pled with the social worker not to “take [her] girls,” Bridget told her sister, “We made it, Nova […] We’re safe now. We’ve just landed” (44). In this way, Bridget made Nova feel safe, protected, and cared for and encouraged Nova’s dreams of space travel. Rather than associating it with fear or potential loss, despite the lyrics of her favorite song, “Space Oddity,” Nova began to connect space travel with comfort and security because it links her to Bridget.

Bridget’s associations with the moon are a bit different because she used the dream of space travel to escape her problems. Nova knows that escape is important to Bridget, who insisted that they would enact several escapes together: first New Hampshire, then America, and finally the planet. Bridget told Nova, “In outer space, surrounded by stars, there’s no social worker to separate us” (88), nor are there any of the other upsetting things they’ve had to face on Earth. In this way, for Bridget, the moon was a place where she could escape—at least in her imagination—from the difficult problems she faced in her life. From this perspective, the moon also becomes a motif that thematically points to Coping Strategies of Children in Foster Care.

Novas and Supernovas

Despite Bridget constantly referring to Nova as “Supernova,” Nova ultimately relates more to her actual namesake—a nova—than she does a supernova, and the nova becomes a symbol of herself, her life, and the continuance of her dream. Before Nova goes to the planetarium for the first time, Stephanie starts to explain what a supernova is: “the biggest, most massive kind of explosion […] When a supernova happens, a star gets so bright it can outshine all the other stars around it, even brighter than our sun!” (80), but Stephanie can’t finish because she realizes they’re late for class. At this point, Nova feels no friction between her nickname and an actual supernova. Furthermore, Nova recalls Bridget’s explanation of how she got her name: Bridget suggested “Supernova” to their mother, who said that there was no way to know if Nova would be really “super,” so she chose to go with “Nova.” It was always Bridget who told Nova that she was “super.” In fact, before the Challenger launch, Nova signs her letters to Bridget as “Your Super Nova” (174).

In the end, however, Nova learns that a supernova is an explosion that marks the end of a star’s life, so it no longer feels fitting or appealing to her after the shuttle tragedy. A nova, on the other hand, is an “explosion […] that makes a dull star get brighter and brighter all of a sudden until it is the brightest thing in the sky” besides the sun and moon (221). A star survives a nova, unlike a supernova. Now, Nova says, “That’s me, Bridget. I survived. You are gone. But I’ll go on,” and she signs her final letter to Bridget as simply “Nova” (221). This change in how Nova identifies herself shows her growth and progress in terms of understanding what happened to her and her sister. The literal explosion of the Challenger ignited a sort of figurative explosion in Nova’s life—her remembrance of Bridget’s death—and though it’s devastating and destructive, she survives it, thematically pointing to Coping Strategies of Children in Foster Care. Thus, novas and supernovas are a motif that helps reveal a theme.

NASA Bear

Nova’s favorite toy, NASA Bear, symbolizes Nova herself. Nova often attributes her feelings to NASA Bear or has NASA Bear communicate in ways that Nova cannot. Once, when Francine tries to hug Nova, Nova pulls away because she doesn’t like hugging. When Francine sighs a little sadly, Nova hands NASA Bear to her, saying, “‘Na-ah Beah bebba,’ [meaning] ‘NASA Bear makes everything better’” (27). Nova doesn’t want Francine to be sad or feel hurt, but she also doesn’t want to hug Francine herself, so she offers NASA Bear instead. In another instance, Joanie asks Nova if she can imagine what Christa McAuliffe will feel on the space shuttle, and Nova says, “‘Mm’ because of course [she] can. [She] wanted to tell her, ‘I have imagined it with Bridget for almost my whole life,’ but since I could not say that I just made NASA Bear raise his paw and nod” (69). When Nova can’t verbalize what she means, she has NASA Bear act out her feelings or thoughts.

Nova treats NASA Bear the way Bridget treated her, further demonstrating how the bear represents Nova herself and thus reflects her self-respect. When she feels overwhelmed during the planetarium show, she “wrap[s] her arms protectively around NASA Bear and trie[s] to pretend she [can] feel Bridget there beside her” (84). Bridget’s presence is comforting and secure, so when Nova wants to feel soothed and safe, she treats NASA Bear as Bridget treated her. Likewise, when Bridget makes Nova laugh, “NASA Bear […] laugh[s] too” (91). In short, Nova deals with her extreme emotions, whether they’re challenging and difficult or fun and pleasant, by pretending that NASA Bear feels as she does.