Review published on Goodreads, 14 December 2021:

There are a lot of middle-grade books out there that deal with death and grief. I'm not sure I've read one, though, that is set in a funeral parlor and discusses what goes on between a person's death and their funeral. It sounds like a macabre subject, especially for a children's book, but it's actually comforting. It was especially interesting for me to learn about Jewish burial traditions as I knew little about them. This element makes SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS stand out from its (many) fellows. The friendship at the heart of the novel is sweet. Through it, the book teaches some great lessons about kindness, feeling one's emotions (even when they're unexpected or embarrassing), healing, and getting help (both professional and non-) when needed. SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS is a quick read, but it's a valuable one. Not only is it warm and life-affirming, but it's also reassuring for those who wonder about and/or are scared about what happens after we die. I enjoyed this novel quite a lot.

Grief combined with the public perception of and taboos around death and bodies. It's not something often addressed in fiction at all, much less of a middle grade audience. I certainly appreciated that aspect of this book. There are several elements I don't love, though. The characters are decently developed but several of the plot elements are awkward.

I love this gentle and compassionate story of Evie, a girl whose parents run a funeral home and Oren, a boy who survives the car crash that kills his parents. If you think the book couldn't possibly be uplifting, you'd be wrong. It's all about facing our biggest fears and accepting when to ask for help. Ultimately, it's about hope. This is the second novel I've read by Joanne Levy and I love her authentic voice and her ability to be vulnerable for her readers. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time.

What a powerful book! So well written. Grief is a hard subject to touch, and more so, write about and try to reach others. Not only did the author tackle this, she did so with class and heart. Highly recommend to anyone suffering loss and grief. Especially recommend to younger adults struggling with the effects of losing someone.

Interesting setting but a fair bit of summary. I am not clear on what the plot is. What does Evie want? I was really interested in the funeral services, and loved whenever we got a hint into that world. I didn't end up finishing because I wasn't invested.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Sorry For Your Loss is a very sweet middle grade book that is guaranteed to hit you right where it hurts. It will break your heart with the pain and grief of its characters and then slowly mend it back together with love and friendship. Evie is a sweet child, she has some difficult things going on in both her personal and school life. Oren is suffering a heavy loss and struggling to deal with his grief. When these two not-friends end up spending a lot of time together an unlikely not-friendship starts to emerge and with it healing for them both. The friendship between Evie and Oren is truly sweet and special.

The storyline was incredibly well thought out. The writing was beautiful. We are given a story about death and grief and get to watch it transform into a story about hope and healing. The pacing of a story is a major thing for me, and I have to say this one is paced perfectly. The author manages to somehow slow everything down for a maximum emotional impact, yet keep the story progressing so nothing is overdrawn. You can feel the emotions of the characters as you progressed through the story. Their grief becomes yours; their healing becomes yours. The emotional impact is high. This book is absolutely incredible. I highly recommend it.

This is my second Joanne Levy book and she really knows how to tackle tough subjects for younger readers in an eloquent and helpful manner. This one takes on the heavy subject of grief.

Evie works helping out at her family's funeral home, determined to take over the family business one day. The kids at school are mean to her, calling her evil and complaining she smells like dead people (whatever that means) so she doesn't have many friends and prefers to keep it that way. However, when a young boy who has just lost his parents enters her funeral home, he becomes a big part of her life. Evie learns patience as she watches this boy grieve and embraces how badly she wants to help him in his time of need.

This book was difficult to read, mostly because it was so emotional. You want to cry with these characters, you feel the ache of knowing things have changed for Oren forever. The story line was charming and I really appreciated Evie's character in both her frustration at trying to get Oren to speak and at the same time giving him the space he needs to recover, though knowing that hurt will likely be there forever. I especially liked when her dad tells her that there are no words to make Oren feel better right now. Often people struggle to say things to help someone out of their grief instead of letting them process the emotions. While the subject of death and loss is quite prominent throughout the story, the charming friendship between Evie and Oren (Or not, according to Evie...) is a story that will draw readers in. I really enjoy Ms. Levy's books and look forward to the next one.

I was really drawn in by the premise of 'Sorry for Your Loss' and it did not disappoint. I can't even imagine what it's like to be a 12-year old girl who already has problems of friends and puberty, but then your family also owns a funeral home! I loved Evie and her curious nature. I really enjoyed the talk throughout about Jewish death customs and traditions. I love seeing the Jewish religion shown in this beautiful light. The friendship that blooms between Evie and Oren, is so real. This might be a story about grief, but it is also a story about hope! A great middle grade read!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel. The free copy did not influence my review.

Evie Walman is a twelve year old girl who's family owns a funeral home. She's decided that she wants to be a funeral director when she wants to grow up, even though she is bullied at school and is called names like "Corpse girl" or told she smells like death. She has been the one who helps hand out tissues and offers them her condolences. When a boy her age who's parents have been killed in a car crash comes into the funeral home, she is determined to help. Oren won't talk and Evie wants to help him feel better and face his grief. Her family helps him and his uncle (who is taking care of him) by taking Oren in on weekdays. He and Evie become friends and both help each other in different ways.

This was such a great book! After I started it my Kindle did not turn off until I was finished. This author also handles the sensitive topic of death in a very age-appropriate way that made me laugh out loud, which I was not expecting! Evie and Oren were very realistic and their voices felt very real (or texts, in Oren's case). I cannot think of anything bad to say about this book and am looking to read more of Joanne Levy's work!

I love this gentle and compassionate story of Evie, a girl whose parents run a funeral home and Oren, a boy who survives the car crash that kills his parents. If you think the book couldn't possibly be uplifting, you'd be wrong. It's all about facing our biggest fears and accepting when to ask for help. Ultimately, it's about hope. This is the second novel I've read by Joanne Levy and I love her authentic voice and her ability to be vulnerable for her readers. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time.

A heartwarming middle-grades read about loss, grief, and friendship. The characters are believable and the storyline is wholesome. A great addition to any middle school bookshelf.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-ARC of this middle grade novel.

This book is a truly lovely book about grief. It does a great job explaining many of the Jewish traditions and rituals around death, and normalizes the questions and conversations so many kids have around death and funerals. I'm looking forward to seeing this one on classroom library shelves.

The premise of Sorry for Your Loss intrigued me from the start. Being a 12-year-old girl is not easy, but the experience can exacerbated when your parents run a funeral home. I loved Evie from the very first pages: she is complex, vulnerable, curious and creative. The story has a great pace, and it cleverly written to teach readers about Jewish death customs and traditions. The friendship that blooms between Evie and Oren, despite Evie's aversion to making friends, is wholesome and satisfying. I was so engaged with their story that I was sad when I turned the last page. A fantastic read for middle grade.

Evie has no friends. Because, really, the one friend she had is gone, so she figures that's it. No more friends. Besides, everyone at school teases her because her father is a Jewish undertaker, and they call her corpse girl, and say she smells.

So, she figures that she will give up on friendships, and just concentrate on being a good future funeral director, and watch what her parents do.

But, when she becomes friends with Orin, because her family takes him under their wing after his parents both die in a horrible auto accident, she says that she isn't a friend. That she is anything but.

This is a wonderful story of healing, for both Orin and Evie. Very well written, with great heart. Plus, you get to learn about a little bit about how Jewish funerals are different from Christian ones.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. </em>