There are two things Nieve has always been sure of: her best friend, Manny, and her fascination with outer space. It’s 1985, and for the first time NASA will send a teacher along with a team of astronauts into outer space. When an essay contest pulls Nieve into the orbit of teacher-turned-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, Nieve’s dream of seeing the stars for herself seems closer than ever. Except, as Nieve turns to the stars, everything else falls apart: Just as sparks begin to fly with Manny, she loses him to new friends at school—including his beautiful new girlfriend, Shannon. With the Challenger launch date approaching, Nieve learns that time never stops moving forward and nothing lasts forever—but what’s on the other side may be more beautiful than she has ever imagined. At 65,000 words, STARDUST IN THE WIND is historical YA found at the intersection of Pretty in Pink, The Edge of Seventeen, and Carl Sagan’s Cosmos.