WOW Recommends: All the Blues in the Sky
All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson begins with these two lines: "I didn't know / best friends could die." (p. 1) and is surrounded by white space, causing readers to pause before turning the page. Thirteen-year-old Sage is feeling every emotion from anxiety to sadness to anger and says,
"…life after losing someone you love
feels like one big ocean of sorrow
and you might feel like you are drowning,
but always there is something
to hold on to
to keep you afloat" (p. 3).
Sage feels every emotion including guilt and blame, wondering why she died so young. Lonely, because she misses sitting next to her at lunch and walking to and from school together. She is sad because her best friend kept all her secrets and knew all of her embarrassing moments.
She becomes part of an after-school grief group with four other girls and soon realizes that there are different types of grief—those who see death coming and those who are surprised. She also learns that everyone experiences grief differently and that some people are uncomfortable talking about death. A new friend, who has lost her dad from a heart attack, understands her the best and becomes a buoy for her.
This Newbery medal winner, written completely in verse, has figurative language—similes and metaphors—as well as vivid imagery and interesting vocabulary. Moving back and forth between the past and the present, Sage reflects on multiple memories of dance parties, visits to Coney Island, splashing in the ocean and all-night movie binges. She now fears cars that speed and come out of nowhere. And she always stops at crosswalks to look both ways. The more time passes, she worries her memories will be erased.
Slowly with the help of a pilot’s program and a new crush, Sage begins to heal and have some hope. She also begins to realize that grief is normal (and uncomfortable), but that she needs to keep rising.
Renée Watson writes for all ages of readers such as picturebooks Maya's Song (2022) and The 1610 Project: Born on the Water (2021) written with Nikole Hannah-Jones. She has also written novels such as Black Girl You Are Atlas (2024) and Piecing Me Together (2017) that won a Newbery honor and a Coretta Scott King Award.--Recommended by Deanna Day, Washington State University
Title: All the Blues in the Sky
Author: Renée Watson
ISBN: 978-1547605897
PubDate: February 2025
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
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