All the Blues in the Sky

Sage is left reeling after her best friend is killed in a hit-and-run accident. And since she was on the way to celebrate Sage's 13th birthday, Sage blames herself for the event. At school, she starts attending a grief counseling group where she meets DD and Ebony, whose loved ones also died unexpectedly. With the help of her new friends, her crush Kofi, and her beloved aunt Ini, Sage learns more about the grieving process. All the while, she struggles to move forward and grapples with regret over not having the chance to say goodbye. Alternating verse and prose depict Sage's present-day navigating new and uncomfortable experiences while going back and forth between her divorced parents' homes alongside memories with her best friend and the imagined future she wishes they had together: "We would be fantasizing about first kisses, first loves/ Dreaming about going to high school one day." These brief yet poignant vignettes drive home the immediacy of Sage's grief as well as the importance of remaining attune to one's emotions in this tender and heartbreaking interpretation of loss. Sage is Black; supporting characters are racially diverse. Ages 10-14. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Feb.)

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A heartfelt portrait of the complexities of grief and the indomitable human spirit.