Space for Saffron by Rie Neal
Summary: Ten-year-old Saffron Sawyer loves science, experimenting, and learning new things. From making homemade slime in the back of her moms’ (Mama and Mimi) coffee shop to adopting tadpoles out of the river to learning how to fix bikes from watching YouTube videos, Saffron is confident she’s prepared for any challenge. But when Mama announces they are moving to Silicon Valley to take over Gran’s café, it’s Saffron’s biggest undertaking yet. Silicon Valley is very different from what Saffron’s used to. The streets are filled with electric cars instead of pick-up trucks, and instead of fixing their bikes, people buy new ones. Even worse, the coffee shop is struggling, and if it closes, Saffron and her moms will move again—leaving Gran behind. The one bright spot is Saffron has started at school just in time for the STEM Expo. Science has always been her favorite subject and she’s excited to present her project…until she sees the elaborate presentations her classmates have planned. Convinced she can never measure up, Saffron decides not to join the expo after all. But when Gran takes Saffron to a space-themed art installation in San Francisco, Saffron has an idea for a STEM Expo project that could help her win over her classmates—and maybe even save Gran’s café for good.

Saffron is a lovable space nerd who sometimes gets so excited to DO SCIENCE that she just can’t get out of her own way. After a particularly embarrassing disaster costs her mom her job, Saffron and her moms relocate to Silicon Valley to take over the ailing family cafe. It’s a whole new world for Saffron as she makes friends with the STEM-forward kids in Silicon Valley. When she figures out how to combine her STEM Expo project with an imaginative plan to save the cafe, she’ll need all hands on deck. Saffron’s deafness and her use of a BAHA (bone-anchored hearing aid) are woven naturally into the story, which is filled with humor, heart, and endearing characters.

SPACE FOR SAFFRON is out now.

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