A Newbery Medal–Winning Middle Grade Novel About Grief, Healing, and Learning to Live With Loss

Genre: Middle Grade / Contemporary / Verse Novel
Format reviewed: Finished copy

⭐ Quick Take

All the Blues in the Sky is a stunning, emotionally intelligent middle grade novel about grief, guilt, and learning how to survive loss without losing yourself. Written in a blend of free verse and prose, Renée Watson offers young readers something rare and vital: permission to be sad, confused, and still hopeful. All at once.

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What It’s About

Sage’s thirteenth birthday was supposed to be simple. Movies, treats, staying up late with her best friend, and watching the sunrise together.

Instead, it becomes the day her best friend dies.

Without the person she shared her secrets and dreams with, Sage is lost. In the aftermath of her friend’s death, she joins a counseling group with other girls who have experienced profound loss. There, Sage begins to understand that not all grief looks the same and healing is anything but predictable.

Told through accessible verse and prose, All the Blues in the Sky follows Sage as she navigates sadness, anxiety, guilt, anger, love, and the quiet moments where joy begins to reappear. It’s a story not about “moving on,” but about learning how to live with loss and learning that feeling deeply is not something to be ashamed of.

Why It Works

This book succeeds because it never talks down to its audience.

Renée Watson understands that young readers already live with big emotions. Often without the language to explain them. Through Sage’s journey, Watson gives shape to grief in all its complexity. The novel makes space for emotional contradiction: sadness and laughter arriving together, anger alongside love, guilt intertwined with longing.

The verse format is especially effective here. By breaking the narrative into short, lyrical moments, Watson allows overwhelming emotions to arrive in manageable pieces. The writing breathes. It pauses. It mirrors the way grief actually feels unpredictable, nonlinear, and deeply personal.

One of the most powerful aspects of the book is Sage’s struggle with self-blame. She carries the weight of “what ifs,” bottling everything inside until it inevitably explodes. When she finally lets herself speak, the release feels earned, necessary, and profoundly human.

This is not a book that rushes healing. It honors the truth that sometimes surviving is the bravest thing a person can do.

Author Insight: Writing Space for Sadness

Renée Watson has spoken openly about why she wrote All the Blues in the Sky and her intention deepens the reading experience.

She describes the novel as a space for young readers to be sad. While many of her books center bold, outspoken girls confronting injustice, this story offers something quieter but no less important: a character who is not ready to be brave yet.

Watson uses poetry deliberately, explaining that verse allows her to play with language, compress big ideas, and hold emotion in small, resonant moments. The result is a book that feels intimate and accessible while tackling enormous themes.

Sage’s experience isn’t limited to death alone. Watson acknowledges that grief can come from many places. Divorce, moving, illness, or sudden change and that sadness deserves space regardless of its source.

The message is clear and compassionate: you can survive sadness, and you can hold joy and grief at the same time.

Memorable Quotes

“Maybe, just maybe, blue, not red, is the color of love with all its mood and passion and emotion. For all the blues in the sky, there are as many blues in the heart.”

“We never run out of love, unless we let our hearts dry out.”

“There didn’t need to be a last time to say it because we spent the time we had together showing it.”

What People Are Saying

“If you're looking for a story that offers hope in the midst of grief and shines a light on the road back to joy, look no further. All the Blues in the Sky is a gift.” ―Nikki Grimes, bestselling and award-winning author of GARVEY IN THE DARK and A WALK IN THE WOODS

“Watson has crafted an achingly beautiful novel that masterfully captures the realities of loss. A heartfelt portrait of the complexities of grief and the indomitable human spirit.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A phenomenal and realistic portrayal of a teenager experiencing the loss of a loved one for the first time. A must for all middle-grade collections.” ―Booklist, starred review

“A poignant story for all and a valuable resource for those experiencing grief and loss.” ―Horn Book, starred review

Things to Know Before Reading

  • Deals with the death of a close friend
  • References to accidents, illness, and loss discussed in a grief counseling group
  • Brief mention of a child killed by a car and a person murdered by police (handled appropriately for middle grade readers)
  • Written in a blend of free verse and prose

Who Should Read This

Perfect for readers who love:

  • Emotionally honest middle grade fiction
  • Verse novels that explore big feelings
  • Stories about grief, healing, and friendship
  • Books like Out of the Dust or The Thing About Jellyfish

This is especially meaningful for young readers navigating loss but it will also resonate deeply with adults who remember what it felt like to grieve for the first time.

Renée Watson’s Other Work

Readers who connect with All the Blues in the Sky may also enjoy:

  • Piecing Me Together: a Newbery Honor winner exploring identity, mentorship, and voice
  • Ways to Make Sunshine: the start of a warm, joyful series following Ryan Hart, a girl learning to navigate family, change, and confidence. This is a family favorite.

Final Thoughts

All the Blues in the Sky is not an easy read but it is an honest one.

It speaks to grief as a lived experience, not a lesson to be learned or overcome. Renée Watson trusts young readers with emotional truth, and in doing so, offers something quietly radical: the assurance that sadness is survivable, and that healing doesn’t mean forgetting.

This is the kind of book young readers carry with them long after childhood the kind with a gold seal, and a place in memory.

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