Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy

Seventeen-year-old Yuri Strelnikov is a Russian physics prodigy recruited by NASA when a massive asteroid is discovered hurtling toward Earth. With only weeks to avert disaster, Yuri is sent to America—where he must not only help save the planet but also learn the strange rhythms of human connection.

When he meets Dovie, an artistic and impulsive girl who lives life with fearless spontaneity, Yuri discovers a world that equations can’t explain. As science and emotion collide, he must choose between logic and love, duty and freedom, in a race against time that could change everything.

Katie Kennedy crafts a sharp, funny, and deeply heartfelt story about genius, belonging, and what it means to find your place in a universe that never stops mov