The first-person poetic middle grade novella All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson (published 2025) captures the essence of grief in the aftermath of the sudden death of a friend. Thirteen-year-old Sage learns to deal with the pain of losing her friend as well as dealing with guilt as she meets with a recovery group and begins to open up about her feelings. As a book about grief, All the Blues in the Sky is not a pick-me-up novel for pre-teens and teenagers, but it does end on a note of hope.
Sage is a highly relatable Black girl in an urban environment. Her grief is very real and I believe accurate in its portrayal. Her associates at the support group also are dealing with loss and their losses are all varied: a family member who died of a heart attack, one who died of cancer, a sibling whose brother was shot by police. Sage has a close (albeit divorced) and supportive family who also helps her deal with her grief, but it is Sage herself who ultimately finds the connections and support that she needs in order to move forward with hope without her best friend. She may even be ready to deal with more grief, as it may come in the future.
The writing in this book is what makes it stand out. Unlike some “novel in verse” books, this one only uses verse when appropriate. When people speak, the novel defaults to prose, which is a much more reasonable use of “novel in verse” in my opinion. It matches how people may think and communicate.
Further, I loved the poetic concepts of “blue” being a representation of mourning and grief. While it seems like an obvious connection, Sage’s experiences and her interest in flying illustrate the gorgeous analogy at just the right moment in the book. I don’t think that the idea of “being blue” is even mentioned until Sage makes a connection herself. The collected image of the “blues in the sky” is a gorgeous one. (I was going to type out an excerpt, but that would be the “spoiler,” I suppose.)
In all, All the Blues in the Sky is a gorgeously written short novel about dealing with grief. Because of the dark theme of grief, I wonder on the popularity of the book among the general middle-grade reading public. That said, there are communities in which such a theme could feel relatable or even essential. America seems to be more grief-filled ever year. I could see this being a touch-stone work in schools as are some of Jason Reynolds’ books.
