A slim, heartrending novel written in both free verse and prose chronicles the fresh grief of 13-year-old Sage (Black), whose best friend was killed in a hit-and-run car accident. Sage misses her best friend in every way. She longs to have a conversation with her, to sit with her at lunch, to hang out over the weekend, to laugh and dance together. Sage attends a grief group with other kids after school, where she confesses to feeling guilty: Her best friend had been on the way to celebrate Sage’s birthday when she was struck by the car. Sage also feels prickly resentment toward some of the others in group, whose loved ones’ deaths were anticipated due to illness; unlike Sage, those kids had a chance to say goodbye. Sage forms tentative friendships—though she is reluctant to call it that—with two girls who also experienced sudden losses. They offer Sage empathy and connection when she lets her guard down. Despite her resistance, Sage finds that being honest about her raw emotions helps, and she realizes that no matter the circumstances, no one is ever truly ready for loss. With the help of her group, family members, and others, Sage takes a step toward healing, finally revealing the name of her best friend toward the story’s end as she finds a way to remember and celebrate her.

Winner of the Newbery Medal

A New York Times bestseller | A USA Today bestseller | A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year | A Kirkus Best Book of the Year | A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year | A Chicago Public Library Best Kids' Book of the Year | A PEN America's Best Children's Books | An NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book | A Horn Book Fanfare Selection Book | A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book

#1 New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medal winner Renée Watson explores friendship, loss, and life with grief in this poignant novel in verse and vignettes.

Sage's thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn't predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life-and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all.

In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is a story of a girl's journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself. To read it is to see how many shades there are in grief, and to know that someone understands.