My daughter read this after me and loved it just as much as I did. Joy is turning 13 and still morning the loss of her best friend Lukas. Each year on her birthday they would always do a scavenger hunt and lukas made sure that this year would be no different. This is such a tender look at young friendship. I remember how important my friends were when I was that age and the innocent between boy/girl friendships. Lukas as you will seen truly adores Joy.

This is such a beautiful, tender story and I loved every page of it.

Thank you so much to the publishers, the authors and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

A middle grade version of P.S. I Love You. This story was a bittersweet way to read about young love. The story alternates between each character, one character narrates in present-day and the other in the past. I loved the characters in the story and was wanting more at the end.

Great for 4th-7th grade students.

In many ways, this is a more polished descendant of those "too young to die" books for teens popular in the nineties. By presenting us with the fact of Lukas's death at the beginning, we know that any development of the relationship between them can't possibly end happily. The plot is fairly simple, focused only on Joy finding clues and Lukas hiding them. The true development in this book is emotional. We see how their relationship grew in complexity, the promise of what might have happened between them, and Joy coming to terms with the loss of her friend at a time when everything else was changing as well. This is a book for middle graders ready for more emotional complexity.

Well-written story of grief and loss. I liked the dual perspective storytelling - Joy telling the contemporary story and Lukas telling the story of setting up the scavenger hunt before he died. The authors also did a great job of making Joy's search realistic. After a year, it's unlikely all of the clues would still be where Lukas left them.

Personally, I would push the age range for this up to an older middle grade - 10 to 14 - because of the romantic pieces of this where both Lukas and Joy debate with themselves the depth of their feelings for each other. From experience I believe my 5th and 6th grade students would have connected with this story better - on the whole - than my 3rd and 4th graders. As always, that will depend on the individual reader.

This book was a beautiful exploration of grief and friendship. It was definitely emotional, and made me tear up several times. I think this was a really gorgeous and impactful story of searching for answers when death occurs, and how we can find our way through grief and come out strong on the other side.

Grief is real. Grief is a process. Grief doesn’t discriminate.

This beautiful story walks us alongside 13 year old Joy while she deals with the tragic loss of her best friend, Lukas. It’s told from Joy’s present day POV and Lukas’s past POV. The alternating timeline allows us to understand what Joy was searching for in their annual birthday scavenger hunt. Although the hunt was solved in a day, the healing would still take time.

Thankful for Netgalley and the publishers allowing me the opportunity to read this story.

This heartbreaking middle grade novel tells the story of Joy and Lukas. They have been best friends for years and they partake in a birthday scavenger hunt annually. Lukas is no longer alive to help Joy find all of the clues, but his spirit lives on. Each chapter alternates point of view from present day Joy to a year ago Lukas. This book is full of friendship, grief, laughter, and mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Seven Clues To Home is a middle grade novel that explores themes of friendship, family, loss, and grief.
From the get go, you already know Lukas, Joy's best friend, has died. The story is told thru alternating POV between the present, Joy, and one year ago, Lukas. Following the clues, and leading up to what happened that day, beautifully tells a story of their lives and their friendship until the tragedy that happened that day on her birthday last year. The ending felt a little abrupt, but still made me emotional.

This story is told from two points of view-Joy and Lukas, who have been best friends since they were in second grade. Except last year, on Joy's birthday, Lukas was killed in a tragic accident. Before his accident, he left Joy a series of clues to find her birthday present. Joy also worries that the last thing she said to Lukas was completely the wrong thing. This is a lovely story that unfolds in the most wonderful way. It's sad but sad in way that kids will enjoy reading about. I thought this one was terrific.

This middle grade realistic fiction novel takes place in alternating timelines and viewpoints. Two best friends have always made each other scavenger hunts for their birthday. After passing away unexpectedly, Joy chooses not to do Lukas' hunt he made for her. A year later we learn how Joy solves the puzzle, and what Lukas did to make it.

My heart feels for these friends and how much they care about each other. I also enjoyed the puzzle component - it was almost a mystery book as well.

"Keepers of Secrets, Wizards of Clues, Growers of Gardens, King and Queens of Summer Birthdays, Holders of Hearts"
Seven Clues to Home warmed my heart so much, I loved this quick, YA read.
Joy Fonseca is dreading her 13th birthday, a 1-year reminder of the passing of her best friend, Lukas. Every year she and Lukas had an annual tradition, a scavenger hunt on each other's birthdays. A year later, Joy finally has the courage to open her first clue from Lukas.
Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin take readers through Joy's adventure, uncovering the last clues Lukas left her, to try and uncover his true feelings, thoughts, and actions on his last day. Through this heartwarming book, readers will get a glimpse into alternating timelines from both Joy and Lukas's perspectives. Highly recommend!

A touching, heart print book that will stay with you for some time. Where and how will you find Joy? Perfect book for any MG classroom! The authors have been fantastic with all of the educator materials that they have put together for this book! Thanks to #NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read #SevenCluesToHome. I've added it to my book club choices for next year!

Joy wakes up on her birthday, which is also exactly a year from the day she tragically lost her best friend Lukas. This book is told from both Joy's and Lukas's perspectives; however, the stories they share are occurring a year apart. Every year Joy and Lukas set up scavenger hunts to celebrate each other's birthdays. Joy must decide if she wants to try to solve the riddles Lukas left for her the year before. Will the clues even still be there? Will it help her grieve her friend? Can she do it alone?

This powerful story of friendship, love, and grief will easily appeal to fans of The Line Tender and The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: death, alcoholism, mention of recreational drug use

I really enjoyed this one!

I adored the plot and how the topics of death and grief were explored. I believe that these topics aren't talked about nearly enough in childrens/middle grade stories, so I really appreciated that they were at the forefront of this novel. I really enjoyed how the novel was told through two different timelines and from the perspectives of both Joy and Lukas. Both timelines kept my attention and really allowed me to get to know (and love!) both characters.

The characters were fantastic and were developed extremely well; I adored their relationship and getting to watch it blossom over both timelines and other flashbacks was great. We primarily focus on Lukas during his chapters, but I loved seeing Joy's family dynamic and seeing how her family banded together to support her as she navigated through her grief of losing her best friend.

The only "negative" thing that stood out to me was the inclusion of two sexual innuendos regarding anatomy in two of Lukas' chapters - it felt extremely out of place and could see how a parent/guardian would not want their child to read it. It didn't take away from the story by any means, and I believe that it would go over the average child's head, but it could be very apparent to older readers.

Although it is very emotional, it is very light-hearted at times and would definitely recommend it to young readers!

I cannot recommend Seven Clues to Home enough! This is a wonderful story about true friendship and loss. This is a great middle grade book. It is told from the viewpoint of two different friends during two different times. I think that everyone young and old will gain something from this beautiful story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

This is hands down one of the best books I've read, not only recently, but ever. It is that magical middle grade novel that will appeal to a variety of readers, is not too childish, nor is it too graphic. It hits all the right notes, and it leaves the reader thinking about the story after the last page. I loved it.

Joy isn't exactly looking forward to her birthday. Because that means it has been one whole year since what happened to Lukas, her best friend, happened. And their birthdays used to be special, only a few days apart in the summer. In order to celebrate them together, they both created scavenger hunts for the other person, and now it's over. Because Lukas is gone. So, on the morning of her 13th birthday, Joy doesn't feel much like celebrating. But she does finally decide to look at the note that was left for her one year ago. And she sets out on the path to solve the clues in the scavenger hunt, even after all this time, to see if she can find out what Lukas was leading her towards.

Told in alternating chapters, with Joy's current point of view, and Lukas's point of view a year ago as he set out the clues, this is a fantastic look at grief, friendship, growing up, finding yourself, and realizing that life does in fact go on, even if you don't think it will.

Highly recommend. This is a first purchase type of book.

I love this book so much! It's bittersweet because we see the huge loss that Joy feels after her best friend Lukas died, but we also get a wonderful sense of their friendship. I cried at the end, but I also laughed multiple times. It's a sad book but it's not a devastating one. There's also a lot of happiness and hope in here. It's important to note (and I think that the authors would agree) that relationships continue in a way even after one of the people involved has died. You don't stop loving someone once they're gone.

I love the idea of birthday scavenger hunts, and I love that Joy gets a chance to enjoy one last one. That was her thing with Lukas, and it's a great tradition. And I love the way that Joy's family quietly supports her. They give her space to feel how she feels, and that's a really fantastic thing.

I hope they continue to write middlegrade together. This one was a wonderful read, and I can't wait to read future books.

Highly recommended.

I cannot stop gushing over this book!! I absolutely loved this story. From the start you know that you are dealing with heartbreak, but the writing choices led to a beautifully told friendship of love and loss. It's not an easy story to read because none of us want to think of such tragedies happening to children, however, it's a sad reality that exists. Therefore, the dual perspectives give us insight into two young minds that can help anyone of any age to realize that love and sharing love can always help to heal.

Turning thirteen is typically a momentous day in the life of any adolescent. But for Joy, in Seven Clues to Home written by Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin, this birthday isn’t going to taste like anything sweet. This day is now just a reminder of her best friend Lukas’s death.

Both characters alternate narrating this story. In the present, Joy dips her toes into the grief that she’s tried to avoid. The reader finds Lukas one year in the past, preparing Joy’s scavenger hunt. While their tradition is to search for birthday gifts, they are also scavenging for other answers. For example, how to accept or understand the flaws of those we love most or how to navigate relationships as they change. We follow Joy and Lukas on their respective journeys, as they trudge through complicated family dynamics, the often confusing process of growing up, and the possibility of moving forward after loss.

Seven Clues to Home celebrates love and friendship but it doesn’t avoid the hard stuff. It has masterful story-telling, beautiful writing, and characters like Joy and Lukas who you won’t soon forget. I didn’t want this book to end and I know it is one I will return to. This story made me cry actual human tears. Seven Clues to Home belongs on the shelf in every middle grade classroom. I will be buying multiple copies.

This story is heart wrenching. I cried through the whole thing. The characters are well developed and each has a unique voice. It is wonderful that the characters are neither “bad nor good” and readers g CB one yo understand that living one another brings out the best in others. Great story for fans of books like Bridge to Terrabithia.