13 Ways to Say Goodbye

December 2, 2024
Nina always followed in the footsteps of her older sister Lily, until Lily died in an accident three years ago, leaving Nina alone with absent, grieving parents and unsympathetic friends. On the eve of her 13th birthday, Nina decides to spend five weeks of her summer in Paris with her aunt Renee, secretly working on Lily’s unfinished list of 13 things to do before turning 13 (“I have to finish/ what she started”). When she crosses off one of Lily’s uncompleted tasks, Nina is thrust into a magical, light-filled memory of a childhood fight with Lily. In Paris, Nina attends art classes where she meets—and crushes on—stylish peer Sylvie. As the summer progresses, Nina explores Paris with Sylvie, creates art, and visits memories of Lily, gradually working through her grief and forging a new path forward in a city where “old and new/ exist side by side.” This delicate verse novel by Fussner (The Song of Us), enhanced by judiciously employed magical underpinnings in a vividly rendered setting, is a nuanced portrait of a tween stepping out of her sister’s shadow and coming into her own. Sylvie has brown skin; Nina reads as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Eric Smith, P.S. Literary.

January 1, 2025

Gr 4-7-Fussner's latest novel in verse takes readers to Paris, where Nina is visiting her aunt solo for the first time. Her older sister Lily died a year earlier, and Nina is determined to finish the "13 Before 13" list of things her sister wanted to accomplish before her 13th birthday. Nina will be celebrating her own 13th birthday on the day she leaves Paris; it seems like an excellent way to bring closure to Lily's last hopes, while also escaping parents who seem to have forgotten Nina exists since her sister's death. Middle grade readers who yearn to travel will appreciate the taste of a Parisian vacation, while those pondering the intricacies of a first crush will fall for Nina's blushing attraction to her assigned friend and guide, Sylvia. While the spare verse does not always explore Nina's feelings to the degree of angst and yearning this burgeoning relationship deserves, it is a sweet and earnest youthful romance that will allow readers to explore the complexities of moving from friend to romance, as well as talking to family members about a crush. Nina's grief is portrayed in sometimes awkward, possibly magical flashbacks that give a glimpse into the family's life when Lily was alive, and ultimately allow Nina to see that she needs to live on her own terms rather than try to emulate her older sister. VERDICT Recommended for middle grade collections where verse novels are popular.-Kate Olson

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January 15, 2025
Feeling independent yet deeply alone, a girl uses her deceased sister's journal to help her move forward. Until three years ago, Nina's family spent their summers in Paris, a delightful tradition that included happy memories and fun times with the ebullient Aunt Renee. But ever since her older sister Lily's death in a bike accident, Nina's parents have retreated into themselves, leaving Nina to try to find ways to ground herself. She hopes to find some peace with what happened by completing Lily's "13 Before 13" list prior to her own upcoming 13th birthday. Lily kissed someone and learned to bake before she died, but other items on the list remain undone, and one--"Take a selfie with theMona Lisa"--requires her to be in Paris. Aunt Renee enrolls Nina, a white-presenting American girl, in art classes and arranges for her co-worker's daughter Sylvie, who's Black, to be Nina's "nouvelle amie" and M�tro guide. Nina finds her feelings for Sylvie blossoming into the possibility of more, and pursuing the tasks on Lily's list provides a springboard for her growth. The verse format and scenes in which Nina relives moments when Lily was alive suit the depth of Nina's feelings and her halting, uncertain progress through the aftereffects of Lily's death. The Parisian setting is authentically developed, and the pitch-perfect ending brings the plot full circle and allows for gentle closure for a summer crush. A moving, sensitive exploration of healing in the wake of loss.(Verse fiction. 10-14)

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February 1, 2025
Grades 4-8 Nina is spending five weeks with her aunt in Paris under the guise of taking a summer art class, but she's truly there to finish her sister's last birthday list. When Lily died three years ago, she was only a few items away from completing her ""13 before 13"" goals. When Nina crosses off the first item, she is magically transported inside a memory, offering her new insight into Lily. Nina is desperate to see Lily again, even if the answers she finds are hard to face and remind her about the distance that had always been between them. Meanwhile, Nina is also on a journey of self-discovery, which includes exploring her more-than-friendly feelings for her new friend, Sylvie. This poignant, emotional novel in verse explores a complicated sibling dynamic and the long-term effects of grief via the soft magic that transports Nina into memories and her relationship with her semi-absent, grieving parents. Nina's increasing independence, shifting family dynamic, and crush are sure to appeal to many in similar stages.

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