Matt Fondacaro

The Surly Bonds Matt Fondacaro

Picture it: Southern California, 1983. Eight-year-old Annie dreams of becoming an astronaut after watching Sally Ride become the first American woman in space. Though she believes she has the right stuff to be a space pioneer, her grades are not among the best, and her family and community don't believe she has what it takes to ride the space shuttle. Compounded by her skeptical father, brainy older sister, and supportive but absent mother, she navigates through a tumultuous upbringing to overcome her learning handicap, and in 1986, the tragic events of Challenger. With the space program hanging in the balance, as well as her future aspirations, she will have to decide whether to abandon them, or perservere in a world denying Annie her dream.