Joy and Lukas have been best friends since the last day of second grade, when all the kids with summer birthdays celebrate. Joy and Lukas share everything until the day they don’t. On her birthday one year later, Joy begins an adventure that will take her away from home and back again. I’m so thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my honest review. This is a perfect middle grade novel and boys and girls alike will celebrate Lukas and Joy’s friendship,

I want to thank NetGalley, Random House Children’s and authors Gae Polisner & Nora Raleigh Baskin for providing me with an ARC of this novel (and also for reaching out to me through email).

This was short, sweet, and to the point. Really, a beautiful read. If you’re looking for a cathartic cry, open this up. The story of friendship throughout this book was so, so nice. As a licensed Funeral Director, I found myself thinking over and over that this would be the perfect book to give to younger adults to help explain grief and the grieving process. This is quite the little gem that I think is appropriate for any age group.

Thank you again to those named above for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

E ARC provided by Netgalley



It's Joy's 13th birthday, but it doesn't feel like a celebration to her; it's also been a year since her best friend, Lukas, died in an accident. Told is alternating viewpoints, we see Lukas planning a birthday scavenger hunt the previous year, and Joy going through the clues a year later. From the pizza restaurant where they ate frequently, to the second hand shop where Lukas' family sold family items to make ends meet, to a park where they had a particularly fun time, we, along with Joy, revisit places that give her fond memories of her friend as she comes to terms with his death. We also get a glimpse into Lukas' life, which was complicated by things like the death of his father, a boyfriend of his mother's who ended up having trouble and left the family, and his brother's behavioral problems. Through it all, we get a good sense of the depth of their friendship, and an inkling that Lukas' nascent romantic feelings would have been returned if he hadn't passed away.

Strengths: This is certainly a lyrical and poignant tale of love and loss. Akin to The Ethan I Was Before , Haydu's, The Someday Suitcase, or Benjamin's The Thing About Jellyfish, this is one of the few books that work through the process of grieving a friend rather than a parent, grapndparent or sibling. It's nice to see the connections that the two had, and the tender regard in which they held each other. There's a bit of action in following the clues, and the story moves along quickly.

Weaknesses: There was a mention early on that Joy's parents had thought she should see a therapist other than the one at school, but she doesn't seem to have. It would have been nice if Joy was seeing someone; she clearly needed more help than she was getting dealing with this trauma.

What I really think: I don't have a lot of students ask for books such as this, but it is a great choice where there is a need for books about the grieving process.

This was a really sweet and short read. I read it in about an hour and it honestly made smile and even almost cry at the end. If you're looking for a nice read that might bring tears to your eyes then this is the book for you. The only issue I had with the book was that I wished it was a tiny bit longer and the scavenger hunt had been a little more elaborate than what it was (though seeing as the characters are around 12 years old it makes sense that it would not be anything too big). Overall, this is just a good book that is perfect for almost any reader.

Seven Clues to Home is an emotional story about Joy and Lukas. These two best friends create scavenger hunts on each other's birthdays. As Joy turn thirteen, she celebrates her first birthday without Lukas. He died last year on her birthday. Because of that, she never went on the special scavenger hunt he created for her. Instead, she had been holding on to the first clue for the past year and decides to follow the clues to see where they lead. This story is told in Joy's point of view in the present time and Lukas's point of view in the past. The story shows their friendship with one another and how they truly feel for one another. This book will hit you in all the right feels.

Thank you to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for a chance to read and review this title.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of SEVEN CLUES TO HOME by Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin in exchange for my honest review***”

Today is Joy’s birthday and exactly one year since her best friend Lukas died. This year, her thirteenth birthday, will be the first since second grade without him. There’ll be no new scavenger hunt, an annual tradition they shared. She does have the first clue from last year, one she never got to read.

Told in both Joy’s and Lukas’s first person points of views, Lukas from the past and Joy the present, SEVEN CLUES TO HOME takes readers through Joy’s quest, and through her grief as she searches for clues.

I loved both Joy and Lukas, smart, funny and kind kids. Lukas’s older brother has a “bad reputation”, but seems like a typical teenager with an appropriate level of rebellion and boundary testing. The death of Lukas’s father, his alcoholic stepfather and their low income status add dimension to his life experiences. I appreciated that writers Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin avoided the trope of the abusive or mean alcoholic stepfather as substance abusing parents are often portrayed in children’s literature. Joy didn’t feel much joy since her best friend’s death yet she had enough love to share with her adoring younger siblings, which couldn’t have been easy while grieving.

I read SEVEN CLUES TO HOME in one sitting, lamenting that no one ever made me a scavenger hunt. The clues were difficult enough not to be simple, yet they were solvable and made sense.

SEVEN CLUES TO HOME is a great addition to libraries and classrooms. I hope Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin decide to write a sequel about Joy’s life moving forward.