All the Things We Found

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. Agent: Hilary McMahon, WCA. (Sept.)