Book Club Guide

The First State of Being

by Erin Entrada Kelly · 2024 · Literary Fiction

Key themes

Y2K anxiety as a specific historical moment of collective fear about the future
A visitor from the future — and what knowing the future does and doesn't fix
Anxiety, friendship and learning that fear of the future isn't the same as the future itself

About this book

In the summer of 1999, twelve-year-old Michael, anxious about Y2K and obsessed with survival preparation, encounters a boy who has time-travelled from the future — and the encounter changes how Michael understands time, fear and what actually matters. Kelly's Newbery Medal-winning novel is about anxiety, friendship and the strange comfort of knowing the future doesn't end the way you fear.

Published in 2024, The First State of Being won the Newbery Medal in 2025. Kelly has written several award-winning middle-grade novels addressing anxiety and mental health, often through speculative or magical elements.

Discussion questions

Michael's anxiety about Y2K is rooted in a real historical moment of collective fear. How does Kelly use this specific setting — and what does it say about how anxiety attaches to particular fears that may or may not come true?
The boy from the future doesn't simply reassure Michael that everything will be fine — the relationship is more complicated. How does Kelly develop this encounter — what does Michael learn that isn't simply 'don't worry'?
The novel is set in 1999, a period some readers will have lived through and others will know only as history. How does Kelly render this specific moment — and does the historical setting affect how a contemporary anxious child might read the book?
Michael's preparation for disaster — his stockpiling, his research — is presented with understanding rather than mockery. How does Kelly develop this without either validating excessive anxiety or dismissing Michael's feelings?
The First State of Being won the Newbery Medal. What does it do that earns this recognition — and how does it use a science fiction premise (time travel) to address a very grounded emotional subject (anxiety)?