The Magic in Changing your Stars by Leah Henderson

Summary from Goodreads:

Can you change your fate—and the fate of those you love—if you return to the past? Journey to 1939 Harlem in this time-travel adventure with an inspiring message about believing in yourself.
 
Eleven-year-old Ailey Benjamin Lane can dance—so he’s certain that he'll land the role of the Scarecrow in his school’s production of The Wiz. Unfortunately, a talented classmate and a serious attack of nerves derail his audition: he just stands there, frozen. Deflated and defeated, Ailey confides in his Grampa that he’s ready to quit. But Grampa believes in Ailey, and, to encourage him, shares a childhood story. As a boy, Grampa dreamed of becoming a tap dancer; he was so good that the Hollywood star and unofficial Mayor of Harlem, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, even gave him a special pair of tap shoes. Curious, Ailey tries on the shoes  . . . and instantly finds himself transported to 1930s Harlem. There he meets a young street tapper and realizes that it’s his own grandfather! Can Ailey help the 12-year-old version of Grampa face his fears? And, if Ailey changes the past, will he still be able to get home again? Featuring an all-African-American cast of characters, and infused with references to black culture and history, this work of magical realism is sure to captivate and inspire readers.  

Review:

Middle grade books are killing it this year. I read two fantastic ones in a row. The second I get back YA, and it’s slow molasses reading again…What’s going YA books? Any way, I devoured this book. It had so many good things going for it.

There’s magical tap shoes, a backdrop story of The Wiz (one of my favorite musicals), random creative bursts of poetic hip hop, a beautiful multigenerational family story, little pieces of The Black Panther superhero, time travel, black history, and the ultimate story of believing in yourself. This is the Pixar movie we are missing. Seriously, I wish this book were movie. Can you imagine the music and the dance numbers?

It was hard to put this book down. I looked forward to work being done, so I could come back to this magical story. This is the kind of book I was craving for months, but almost forgot I was craving. I really hope it gets the recognition it deserves.

I could see a lot of young readers relating to Ailey. Stage freight and confidence is something we all have to deal with. But, a lot of older readers would fall in love with this book too. I noticed some notable names as I was reading. But, I did not take note of all of them! In the back of the book, there’s a “Black Excellence List,” where you realize almost all of the characters in the story are named for important people.

If I were nitpicking, I’d say there were a few things in here that were a tad predictable. However, the ending did surprise me. It’s not exactly what I was expecting! And that’s rare. All in all, I loved this. I hope a lot of people read it. I give it a 9/10.