2 Friendship Lessons from the Space Boy novels

Books: Space Boy Novels Volumes 1-3
Author and Illustrator: Stephen McCranie
Published: 2018 (Vol. 1 and 2), 2019 (Vol. 3)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Age Suggestion: 12+
Trigger Warnings: Loss of parents, somewhat dark in places

Space Boy Novels Summary:

Amy faces a difficult adjustment when her family relocates from deep space back to earth. She is, when the story begins, in high school on a mining colony in deep space. However – her father loses is job and they are sent back to earth. To get back to earth they are frozen for 30 years. When Amy wakes up, she is not only in a totally new environment, but any friends she had are now much older, and technology, culture, etc., have all changed (think about 30 years ago – no smartphones, no internet….it makes a difference).

When Volume One opens, Amy’s best friend is Jemmah. In an epilogue in Volume Three, we learn that May and Jemmah met when they were six. They have been best friends for ten years. They have had a “secret sign” since fourth grade that means “best friends forever”.  Soon after her arrival on earth, an older couple tell Amy that “it is easier to take on life’s challenges when you are with your best friend” and tell her she needs to call Jemmah. She does – and Jemmah’s teenage daughter answers the call. Amy almost immediately hangs up, and refuses to answer when Jemmah tries to call her back. In Volume Three, Amy finally calls Jemmah again. They have a wonderful reunion, and Jemmah ends the call with the “secret sign”. Jemmah may be thirty years older than Amy, be married, and have three kids, but the friendship is still there.

One of the reviews quoted on the back cover of Volume Three notes that it is a great series for anyone from “a teenager starting out a new school” to “an adult who’s recently moved from one end of the continent to the other”. There are multiple places to explore helpful themes within the first three volumes, but friendship is one that I think is crucial. During the time between the calls, Amy makes a number of new friends, and they face many of the challenges that typical teenagers face. I would like to focus on the story of Amy and Jemmah? What can we learn from it about friendship? Especially for kids?

Lesson 1: A good friendship takes effort.

After Amy calls for Jemmah in Volume One, Jemmah repeatedly tries to call Amy back over a period of several months.  Amy doesn’t respond because she is afraid – afraid that Jemmah now has no place in her world for Amy. It takes help from another friend to finally convince Amy to overcome her fears and call Jemmah.

If we want to maintain friendships we need to put in the effort to keep them going.  And we need to be careful about making assumptions. While none of us are going to be frozen for thirty years and need to adjust to being separated for that long, we all face situations where we are separated from old friends. And it is easy to make assumptions (even when friends are close). We have wonderful technology that makes it really easy to stay connected, even if we are large distances apart. It takes an effort to use that technology. As a parent, I don’t think I took this seriously enough with my kids and their friends.

Lesson 2: A good friendship is resilient.

“Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family” (Proverbs 18:24, Message). This may be one of the best signs that a true friendship exists. Thirty years does not loosen the bonds of friendship between Amy and Jemmah.

Again, we will not be faced with being frozen, but we could be faced with periods of separation. As Proverbs notes, some friends simply come and go, but a true friendship is resilient enough to withstand short and long periods of separation (or whatever else else gets thrown its way).  And once again, I am not sure this is a lesson I lived for my kids.

Friendship In Literature:

Great literature is full of examples of true friendship. I am going through Lord of the Rings (again), and Frodo and Sam are a great example. David’s friendship with Traddles in David Copperfield would be another. Space Boy is a good way to highlight this for kids 12+, and can provide you with an interesting starting point.

What are your favorite friendships in literature??

Thanks for reading! Take a look at our reviews with discussion questions of Space Boy Volume One and Space Boy Volume Two.

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