The Secret Astronomers by Jessica Walker

I can never resist an epistolary novel, especially when it’s presented in a multimedia format!

This story takes place in the pages of a very old astrophysics textbook tucked away in the Green Bank High School library. A recent transfer student to West Virginia from San Francisco is both bored and looking for answers to her deceased mother’s mysterious past — a past that involves a town with no wireless technology and a history of strange phenomena related to the nearby observatory. The teen’s search has led her to this book, which she begins drawing and journaling in while trying to decipher its secrets.

Another student — bright and desperate to make use of the few textbooks available to her as she aims to earn a college scholarship — soon makes her annoyance known at the defacement of the book’s pages, via the application of several sternly worded Post-Its. As the two girls communicate using the book as intermediary, they strike up a friendship. Choosing to remain anonymous, they call themselves The Secret Astronomers, with each taking on a codename. Artsy Copernicus and focused Kepler soon find themselves pouring their hearts out to one another, even as they join forces to not only solve the mystery of Cop’s mom but also the myriad other conundrums of rural high school life.

I loved the concept of this book and especially the relationship between Cop and Kep. Both have a chip on their shoulders about West Virginia, Cop as the outsider exiled from her cosmopolitan life on the West Coast, and Kep as someone fiercely proud of her roots even as she’s desperate not to be trapped by them. Cop did sometimes annoy me with her holier-than-thou attitude, but her dialog rang true for kids that age. I did kinda want the overall story to be less prosaic but it worked as a coming-of-age tale, with the unique format making up for any shortcomings in originality otherwise

The art throughout was wonderful. I did feel a little hampered by having to read this on my PC, a format which I also felt stripped some of the more cipher-like components of the mystery for me. The book did take me a while to read (again likely due to the format: if at all possible, try to get a physical copy of this!) but it was a nice portrayal of how we find friendship in the unlikeliest places and how sometimes all you need is for someone to show up for you.

The Secret Astronomers by Jessica Walker was published November 4 2025 by Viking Books for Young Readers and is available from all good booksellers, including