Thank you to #NetGalley, Meghan Boehman, Rachael Briner and the publisher of this book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Middle schooler Millie has the best friends in the world, but their friend group is rocked when friend Rosie dies in a car accident. Suddenly, the friend group is struggling to move on. Millie, not wanting to feel her emotions, throws herself into a mysterious notebook that was left at her family's laundromat. Could these clues lead her to one last piece of Rosie?

This book was very touching and sad, but also necessary. Middle school is a hard age and losing a friend can make it very hard. I like that the characters in the book were animals as it made the story easier to digest and easier to talk about a tough topic. I think this would be a great addition to any middle school library or classroom.

A beautiful and heartfelt graphic novel about loss, friendship and healing. Could be a bit traumatic and sad for younger students, but I think this would make a great addition for upper elementary and middle school libraries.

Cute, middle-grade story that describes friendship, love and loss. The characters are adorable looking. It was cool to realize that the characters and story are loosely based on the author's own experience, and that the animals featured as characters are all native to the author's local area. I think that the most important piece of this graphic novel is the take-away that everyone experiences grief differently, and that it manifests itself in different ways. But ultimately, friendship can help to heal the brokenness that our grief can leave us with,

This middle grade graphic novel shows how the friendships in a group of girls changes when one of the friends, Rosie, has died. It includes flashbacks and a mystery as Millie finds a unique notebook and they spot some drawings that remind them of Rosie. Though their group dynamic has changed and they deal with their grief in different ways, the friends have to find a way to rely on one another. The artwork is colorful, the characters are cute, and the emotions are powerful with a satisfying ending.

Dear Rosie is an emotional middle grade graphic novel about four seventh graders after the fifth in their friend group, Rosie, dies in a car crash. They each struggle with the loss and try to find healing in different ways, which is compounded by other typical middle school troubles such as fights between friends, friends moving away, unlikable teachers, etc. I wasn't expecting there to be a subplot about how Millie feels being the only one of her friends who doesn't have a cell phone yet, so that was interesting to read about as it situates the book firmly in our current day. There is also a small mystery element, as Millie finds a notebook with a symbol that Rosie used to draw in it, but the graphic novel mostly feels slice-of-life, which I appreciated. Each of the characters/families is a different animal, and I liked the soft colors and cutesy art style the illustrations have. I think this graphic novel is a great exploration of loss and trauma that is accessible to its middle grade audience, and a great book to have on hand for young students experiencing grief and looking for similar stories.

A few weeks ago, my high school choir kids lost one of their classmates suddenly during a choir rehearsal. I don't know of many older people let alone teenagers who are able to get through the experience without trauma, so I appreciate that this graphic novel captures the different ways people struggle to cope with the loss of a friend, especially one at such a young age. I think this would be a comforting book to those who have lost someone.

This is a very sweet middle grade graphic novel about healing from loss and friendship. I really loved that each friend was a different animal and had a different life and family situation. They each also struggled with their loss in their own way. This would be a great addition to a middle grade graphic novel collection.