“A wholly original novel that celebrates connection in unlikely places.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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The story is set in Green Bank, West Virginia, a place where modern communication technology is banned (FM radio, cell phones, Wifi, microwaves). Any device that emits a radio wave would interfere with the Green Bank Telescope, a technological behemoth in the center of town dedicated to scanning the universe for signs of life.
In the beginning of the book, we are thrown into a chance encounter that leads to the unlikely friendship between two anonymous pen pals, who use this shelved library book as the container for their daily musings–it’s a secret diary kept in plain sight. The writers adopt the names Copernicus and Kepler and take on a playful vow to remain anonymous to everyone, including themselves.
The pair get entangled in a mystery that has puzzled Green Bank residents for decades. Responding to a series of strange, unexplained events tied to the observatory that may or may not involve aliens, Copernicus and Kepler form “The Secret Astronomers,” to track down answers.
They embark on a hillbilly-meets-progressive culture journey that takes their silent friendship to the brink of extinction. In the process they are transformed and what they discover in solving the mystery transforms both of their lives forever.
