The First State of Being is a middle grade historical science fiction novel about 12-year-old Michael Rosario, who meets 16-year-old Ridge Sabio, a time traveler from the future. Michael is panicking about the 1999 Y2K crisis. The book thus explores the contexts of Y2K and time travel, including The Relationship Between Guilt and Grief, The Mutual Nature of Caregiving, The Importance of Living in the Present, and The Power and Responsibility of Knowledge.

Like Michael and Ridge, the author, Erin Entrada Kelly, is mixed-race Filipina American and lives in Delaware (where the novel is set). Kelly’s prolific portfolio includes work as a journalist and magazine editor; her other books have won and/or been nominated for several awards, including the Newbery Medal (2018, Hello, Universe), the APALA Award (2017, The Land of Forgotten Girls), the Golden Kite Honor Award (2016, Blackbird Fly), and the Mythopoeic Award for Children’s Fantasy (2020, Lalani and the Distant Sea), among many others. Kelly is a New York Times bestseller, and her novels have been translated into many languages.

This guide references the Greenwillow Books 2024 edition of the novel.

Note: Some chapters in this novel end with materials from the 2199 timeline within the novel. These materials are split into two kinds: “Informational Inserts” are educational materials for people from the future to learn about the late 20th century; “Flash Forward” sections are script-formatted scenes from Ridge’s life in the future.

Plot Summary

In the year 2199, Dr. Maria Sabio, PhD, a Spatial Transportation Scientist (STS) in Red Knot, Delaware, develops the Spatial Transportation Module (STM) to travel back in time. This new technology is hotly debated by scientists, and time travel (spatial transportation) remains hypothetical. On August 17, 2199, Dr. Sabio’s son, Ridge, impulsively uses the untested machine to travel back to the year 1999.

August 17, 1999, is Michael Rosario’s 12th birthday. He is recovering from a cold. Instead of celebrating, Michael worries about his single mom, who works three jobs. Specifically, Michael fixates on the looming disaster of Y2K. To prepare, Michael is amassing a stash of supplies. As he steals food from the local store, he is almost caught by Beejee, the manager’s son, who is also a bully. Michael is rescued by a neighbor. Later, Michael encounters Mr. Mosley, his apartment complex’s handyman and a family friend of the Rosarios. He gives Michael $20 as a birthday gift. They see a strange teenage boy (Ridge) wandering around the complex, and Michael is wary of him.

Gibby, Michael’s babysitter, is waiting for him at home. Gibby is Beejee’s sister. Michael tells Gibby about the strange boy he saw, and Gibby is intrigued. When they find the boy, he tells them his name and that he is from the year 2199, but Michael and Gibby are skeptical. To prove his story, Ridge tells them about an upcoming earthquake in Turkey. When Michael’s mom comes home, she gives Michael expensive shoes as a birthday present. Though he feels guilty, Michael accepts the gift. Worried about Ridge’s prediction, he is unable to enjoy the party. Later, Gibby reports that the earthquake was real, and she and Michael are convinced that Ridge is a time traveler.

When they find him again, Michael wants to ask Ridge about Y2K, but Ridge refuses to answer. He accidentally reveals his sumbook, a device that contains knowledge of the future. Michael becomes fixated on it. Ridge asks for directions to the mall. Gibby wants more proof that Ridge is a time traveler. Ridge shows them a small device that connects to the STM to initiate spatial transportation. The device is called an EGG. Gibby and Michael fully believe him now. Gibby arranges for Ridge to stay with Beejee. Later, Gibby and Michael encounter Mr. Mosley, who isn’t feeling well. Gibby lends him a book, and Michael helps him with housework.

The next day, Gibby takes Michael and Ridge to the mall. Ridge is ecstatic, Gibby is skeptical, and Michael is unenthused. Each time he asks about Y2K, he is rebuffed. At the mall toy store, Gibby encourages Michael to enter a raffle for a LEGO robotics set. He enters her information instead. Ridge loves the bookstore. There, Michael meets a future classmate, Paige. She gives Michael her phone number.

After the mall, Ridge stays at Michael’s apartment. Mr. Mosley had left a voicemail, telling Michael he stopped by for lunch but no one was home. Michael calls back and promises to eat lunch with Mr. Mosley the following day. Ridge explains the danger in telling Michael about Y2K—with knowledge of the future, Michael might act in ways that would disrupt the future world Ridge knows. Ridge also encourages Michael to befriend the neighboring Prince brothers and to call Paige. Ridge reveals his namesake: a mysterious document with the word RIDGE on it that has sparked endless debate in 2199. Ridge sneezes—he is sick with Michael’s cold, but has no immunity to it.

The next day, Gibby informs Michael that Ridge is going back to the future. To say goodbye, Michael misses lunch with Mr. Mosley, and he leaves him a voicemail. At Beejee’s apartment, Ridge initiates the EGG, but he fails to time travel. Everyone is confused.

In 2199, the Sabio family panics. Ever since Ridge disappeared, they have been trying to bring him back. They research his time stamp and find that there are no historical records of him. The STM has short-circuited, so they must repair it to bring Ridge home. Simultaneously, in 1999, Ridge is frantic when the EGG malfunctions. Michael reassures Ridge that his mistakes aren’t forever.

Soon after, Michael learns that Mr. Mosley has passed away suddenly, likely around the time Ridge was trying to go home. Michael takes the news hard, and he feels even worse when his mother stays home from work, because Michael blames himself for the loss of her original job. Michael feels guilty that he hadn’t done more for Mr. Mosley.

Ridge becomes dangerously sick. Medication isn’t helping, but he refuses to see a doctor. He relocates to Michael’s apartment. One morning, Beejee barges in, furious. Someone stole his tools; he finds them in Michael's Y2K stash. Ridge bluffs that he is the thief, but Beejee doesn’t believe him. He kicks Ridge out of his apartment and retrieves the clothes Ridge borrowed, including the sumbook. Michael tries to retrieve it, but reports that he failed. Ridge panics.

Ms. Rosario visits Mr. Mosley’s apartment and brings back Gibby’s book and a jar for Michael. Inside is $5,000 that Mr. Mosley had saved. Michael feels guilty. Ridge advises him to invest the money. Suddenly, the EGG turns on. In 2199, the Sabios have worked furiously to repair the STM. They have finally succeeded, and the STM is now active.

Gibby rushes over, and Ridge writes a note for her and Michael. Gibby asks for a memento—Ridge writes his name on an old takeout menu, inadvertently creating the RIDGE mystery document. Gibby gives Ridge her book—Ridge is shocked to learn her real name, Elizabeth Gibson. Michael that confesses he stole Beejee’s tools. Ridge forgives him and disappears. Gibby and Michael never learn whether Ridge made it back home. Ridge’s note reads, “Netflix IPO 2002” (222).

Later, Ms. Rosario takes Michael to Mr. Mosley’s apartment. She chooses a favorite movie as a memento and stops him from taking food for his stash. At home, Michael retrieves the sumbook, which he secretly stole when Beejee threw it out. He opens it, but finds it full of nonsense, impossible to decode. Michael is frustrated but remembers Mr. Mosley’s encouragement to be a good person. He destroys the sumbook and donates his Y2K stash to a food pantry. He calls Paige and befriends the Prince brothers, finally content to face life’s “what ifs.”

An information insert reveals future facts about Gibby and Michael. Gibby won the LEGO robotics set, studied physics and engineering, and established the field of spatial transportation (time travel), setting the basis for Dr. Sabio’s career. She used the name Elizabeth Gibson-Gray and the EGG is named after her. Inspired by the Earth being drastically ravaged by pollution, plastic, and other man-made disasters, Michael and Paige establish the hugely successful Mosley Conservation Institute, dedicated to conserving and protecting endangered wildlife.

Ridge’s family is delighted when he returns. They heal him right away. Dr. Sabio is worried that he lost the sumbook, but there are no adverse effects in the timeline. Ridge’s siblings are impressed that he befriended Elizabeth Gibson-Gray. Dr. Sabio hypothesizes that if Ridge hadn’t traveled back in time, this future might never have happened.