Courtney Changes the Game

Published 2020; author Kellen Hertz; illustrators Blake Morrow, Joe Hinrichs, Kelley McMorris, and Heather Tubwon

Summary

To quote MST3K: Hobgoblins, "It's the eighties! Do a lot of coke and vote for Ronald Reagan!" Though, at eight years old, Courtney Moore is enjoying the tail end of 1985 in a way more appropriate to her age: playing PacMan at the arcade in a California mall with her friend Kip Tomatsu and her thirteen-year-old step-sister Tina. With Kip cheering her on, Courtney's able to make it to level nine for the first time ever--when Tina insists it's time go, instigates a fight, and makes Courtney lose. They used to be close; after Courtney's mom married Tina's dad, they were friends (while Courtney's parents are divorced, Tina's mom died when Tina was six). But ever since they started sharing a room when their brother Rafi was born two years ago, Tina's mood swings from hot to cold. She's either angry or nice with no in-between.

Dinner that night reveals a shock: Courtney's mom is going to run for mayor! The current one is resigning, and she sees her opportunity to make a difference. Her campaign manager is the mother of Courtney's best friend, Sarah Barrett. The family will need to pitch in more at home to let her campaign (as she already works as the assistant director of the city's parks and recreation department, the family is used to doing some of the work). But for now, school has resumed after winter break, and Courtney's third-grade teacher, Mr. Garcia, is ready to teach a unit on space travel, as the Challenger is due to launch in a few weeks and teacher Christa McAuliffe will be aboard. Students all across the country will be tuned in to watch this historic event. Mr. Garcia wants the class to work on a project about achieving their biggest dreams, whether their dreams are about exploring space or not.

Courtney decides to make her own arcade game, with a female main player named Crystal Starshooter who must travel distant planets to save Earth from solar radiation. She's so excited about her idea that it's almost enough to distract her from missing her dad--she usually spends weekends with him, but he just moved three hundred miles away thanks to a big promotion at work. That means all of Courtney's things that were at her dad's now have to fit into the room she and Tina share...including her hamster, Parsley. Plus, it's almost Tina's mom's birthday, or what would have been her birthday. Courtney tries to make things easier for Tina as this is always a difficult time, and decides to clean their room neat as a pin...accidentally breaking a ceramic figurine in the process. Mike (her stepdad) helps her fix it, and later on Tina offers Courtney a small olive branch of Gummi Bears following Courtney's defense of her mom's campaign in a TV interview (it makes sense in context), although things are still tense. A mother-daughters bonding day at the mall (Courtney's mom gets an updated hairstyle with advice from Tina, Tina gets a perm, Courtney gets her ears pierced) is what really helps Tina feel like she belongs in the family.

Soon, it's time to watch the Challenger launch. Courtney's class gathers around the TV wheeled into to the room for the event. Of course, it's fairly well-known what happened after takeoff: as kids around the country, including Christa McAuliffe's, watch, the Challenger explodes. All seven astronauts aboard are killed.

Over the next few days, there are presidential addresses and classroom discussions and special reports on television and heart-to-hearts with family. Courtney and Tina in particular have a long talk about Tina's late mother, and how sometimes seeing the closeness Courtney has with her mom reminds Tina that she can't have that with her own mother anymore. But Tina is starting to feel like she can have deeper relationship with her stepmother without it disrespecting the memory of her mother. Tina even inspires Courtney on how to go about designing her arcade game for the big school project. They feel more like a family than ever.

Inside Courtney's World

The historical section details the rapid changes in consumerism and pop culture that the financial gain of the eighties ushered in. With more people having access to disposable income in the later half of the decade, more wanted to get the latest gadgets and toys, and there were more and more forms of entertainment, from cable TV to malls as gathering places. The social landscape was changing too, and divorce became less stigmatized and more women entered the workforce. With more exposure to people beyond their hometowns, people began to understand the vast diversity that can exist within humanity. Obviously we're not there yet, but understanding that the differences exist in the first place is a step to accepting, and then embracing those differences. 

Misc

Hertz dedicates her book to "Arden, whose idealism and open heart make me feel lucky to be her sister."

This book and its sequel are about half the length of previous two-set American Girl books, like the ones for Maryellen and Melody, and the ones that combined the original six-book sets of previously-released girls into two books. American Girl now sells two-book sets marketed as "illustrated and abridged." 

My brother had the same rainbow suspenders as Mr. Garcia in the 80s. (He and I were born in the 80s)

Courtney's dad dubs his cassette tapes so she can have copies, too. My dad has dozens of tapes of songs he recorded off the radio, and used them along with records and already-recorded tapes to make mix tapes for him and for us kids. Now he burns CDs from all those sources and newer ones like iTunes.

While it wasn't known (or at least not widely) in the eighties, we do know now that guinea pigs shouldn't live alone. They're very social animals and do well in pairs or small groups. Keep the group all male or all female unless you want a LOT more.