All the Things We Found
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Ruthie is finally getting used to the new normal: her parents' divorce, having a stepdad and (annoying) stepbrothers and trying not to think too much about before.
When her mom starts feeling sick, Ruthie’s relieved it’s nothing serious…until her mom tells her she’s pregnant again. Their family suffered a loss three years ago and it was devastating. How could her mom risk that again?
At least Ruthie has her best friend and her dog to help comfort her, as well as her favorite book series that always cheers her up: The Unicorns of Faravelle Forest. When Ruthie unexpectedly meets Ally, an older woman in the park where she takes her dog to play, she learns Ally is grieving a loss too, and the two develop an unlikely friendship. Though the journey is never smooth, Ruthie eventually realizes there’s comfort to be found in expressing your feelings and cherishing the memory of those you've loved.
The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Praise for Joanne Levy:
★ "A heartfelt and expertly written tale of loss, family, and friendship that will have readers blinking back their tears...Beautiful and sincere."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review for Sorry for Your Loss
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Eleven-year-old Ruthie is wary of her mother and stepfather's surprise pregnancy announcement, especially after a previous stillbirth and her mother's subsequent depression, and her parents' divorce three years before this book's start. Ruthie believes that her mother and Ruthie's stepfather are being "selfish and stupid"; her older stepbrothers Matt and Chris agree, but for reasons unrelated to Ruthie's unresolved grief over the past ("Where are we going to put another kid?"). Though her father and her best friend Jenna try to be supportive, Ruthie laments their lack of understanding. Instead, Ruthie turns to her dog Izzy and her favorite unicorn book series for comfort. When she discovers that the final volume in the series was canceled, however, Ruthie and Jenna endeavor to write their own. And on her nightly walks with Izzy, Ruthie befriends an older woman named Ally, who's grieving her own loss. Levy (Crushing It) deftly tackles topics surrounding grief, mental health, and pregnancy via Ruthie's comforting, emotionally vulnerable first-person narration, resulting in an encouraging exploration of loss and healing. Main characters cue as white. Ages 9–12.
