THIS. COVER. Have you seen this cover? It might be the most beautiful cover ever. It’s nothing too fancy, but it’s so flawless in its simplicity. I don’t know if it’s the color scheme or what, but I find it so aesthetically pleasing. It calms my soul.

This is a beautiful, heartfelt, sad-but-also-warm story. We follow 11 year-old Aster, who is an absolutely lovable character, but doesn’t feel like she fits in and blames herself for her mom leaving her and her dad. She has to deal with a lot of heavy issues most kids her age don’t even think about, but she soon discovers that she’s not the only one who’s struggling through life and that a little friendship can go a long way.

I loved how the story dealt with important topics like anxiety, depression, parents abandoning their kids and the fact that none of us look exactly the way we feel. You never know what someone else might be going through, so the best you can do is be kind. That’s a great takeaway for a middle-grade book. Everyone fights their battles in their own way, and that’s okay.

And to finish off I’ll leave you with my favorite quote because the Peter Pan in me can’t help it:

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in exchange of an honest and voluntary review.