I enjoyed this book a lot. The writing did remind me of Rebecca Stead. It was a nice refreshing read that I would recommend.

Perfect middle grade book showing how awkward and difficult and lovely middle school can be. I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader’s copy.

Dee is navigating 6th grade without her best friend in her class and dealing with an eccentric mom. This book does a decent job showing the difficulties of tackling changing friendships; however, there were some plot lines that seemed like odd choices to me. Comparing a book to Judy Blume and Rebecca Stead sets it up for extremely high expectations. Although it is a good book, it does not shine the way I hoped it would.

Dee’s best friend Juniper is in a different class now that they’ve started sixth grade, and Dee isn’t handling it well. Also, her mom is completely mortifying, she has no idea what’s going on with fractions, and she keeps botching her attempts to befriend Harry, a boy in her class. As she hides in the restroom each day, she overhears other kids having rough times of their own and starts giving them advice. Dee’s struggles with bullies, Big Feelings, and growing up are very relatable. The plot is slow-moving and low-stakes, which might not suit all readers. Thanks, Netgalley.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great young reader title about 6th grade peer pressure and rising above it all.

There is a lot to unpack about this book and it will hit home with so many people. Going from grade school into middle school brings a lot of changes. People who you have been friends with your whole life suddenly seem different. They can act like they don't know who you are, make comments about you to others and neither of you have the words to explain how you feel. Worse, you're often parroting what was said in your home about others. Middle school is difficult enough to navigate through without dealing with all the drama that surrounds friendships. Happy & Sad & Everything True follows the "weird" girl. She comes from a broken home, she smells weird. Her mom is "inappropriate," and aren't they just gross? Dee doesn't understand why her best friend no longer wants anything to do with her, but Dee realizes just how special she really is. How great her mom really is, and that being yourself, even if it's weird, will give you true friendships. This book is a great remaindered that not everything that glitters, is gold.

What a wonderful book for kids. I could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone.

This is a cute story about a girl who thinks being in a separate class from her best friend is the end of the world. I feel like she complained most of the time, rarely having moments of just calmness versus always every second hating everything. Which I get to a point, but it felt like that was her entire personality until the end. However, the ending was so good and really made up for that!

3.5 stars!

I love a middle grade novel with feels, and that's exactly what this is. The story focuses on Dee who is struggling with a "friend breakup" - Trying to find a place, she starts giving out advice via the vents in the bathroom. What I loved about this advice and this book is the way it navigated and addressed some real stuff - namely dynamics with parents. Reading this as a parent, I appreciated that it give voice for kids of how this can impact them and what they might do. I also loved how Dee did find a place where she fit! Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this November 2024 release!

“Happy & Sad & Everything True” is a great title for this honest depiction of the changing emotions of middle grade students. There are several issues, but that is indicative of many students who will find this book a mirror or window text. Dee’s problems seem insurmountable, but similar to MG readers, and may help a reader define big and small issues in their own life.
The themes in this book are a good choice. Dee must overcome her struggles and does so using her own superpowers of honesty, kindness, and empathy. The reader can easily predict forward, guessing on the Dee’s positive relationship development with the adults in her life, while dealing with the old and new relationships that are evolving.
This is a quick but jam-packed read. Great for book club discussions. Well done!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. Happy & Sad & Everything True is a beautiful middle grade novel--a book that checks so many boxes for middle grade readers. Short. Relatable. Honest. In the book, new 6th grader Dee gains new friends, lets go of old friends, and finds her own voice. There's a wealth of positive adult/teen relationships and real talk about building that trust. I appreciate that Dee’s growth isn’t easy, but it is relatable. Her troubles are small, but they feel so big. Anyone who has worked with middle school students (or remembers middle school) will root for Dee and her peers as they navigate the early years of growing up and finding their friends.

Happy & Sad & Everything True tackles a lot of issues at once: changing friendships, single parent families, teasing and bullying, and anxiety just to name a few. It does seem at times like Thayer takes on so much that some parts of the story aren't as well developed. I also felt like the story was a little unbalanced at times. For example, we see Dee's mom as possibly promiscuous and flirtatious at the beginning of the book, causing her a lot of embarrassment, but by the end, she is portrayed as being a great mom and Dee's best friend. Dee's new friend Harry is by turns either ghosting her or standing up for and praising her, which felt confusing at times. Just like most adolescents, Dee is trying to reconcile the person she is becoming with the girl she has been up until now. Perhaps that's why she's such a good influence on the younger students in the story who look to her for guidance because she doesn't act like she's far above them. The overall feel of the book was of a lower middle grade level, though some of the issues were a little more mature. All of these factors affected the way I rated the book, as I was confused at times by who the audience was meant to be.

I received an ARC of this middle grade book. It is well written about the struggles of 6th grade and navigating friendships. Family dynamics affecting school friends. Challenges of emotions and fitting in with different groups. Harry, Juniper, and Dee deal with complex issues. Perfect for the beginning of the school year.

This charming debut middle grade novel follows Dee as she navigates sixth grade by secretly giving advice to classmates while hiding in the bathroom. Through her unexpected role as a confidante, Dee learns about friendship and finding her own place in the world. I would definitely recommend this book to my library patrons and can see young readers loving it for its heartfelt and relatable story.

Dee struggles to make sense of everything that is going on in her life. Things are complicated at home, at school… but finds she has good advice to share when it comes up through the vent in the bathroom. Who is leaving notes? What is going on with Juniper? Harry?
This intriguing story brings out the power of voice.
(While the end did try to wrap things up in a positive way, I still felt uneasy with the mom… I felt Dee had to accept too much about the mom without any reprieve for herself.)

Dee is such a wonderful chat with such a giving heart. She is trying to find her place as friendships change.
I liked how she helps multiple people.
I didn't love her home life situation, but I liked that she has ways to get through it.
This is such a great book for any student struggling with friendship changes and life changes.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

This book is exactly what the title says, such a beautiful, sad, happy, honest book. A great book for middle grade readers to learn empathy. I didn’t want it to end!

What a wonderful book about finding yourself and friendship. Dee finds her best friend is not as friendly as she used to be now that she’s hanging out with a new group of friends. One day while in the bathroom she and Harry talk through the bathroom grates. Word gets around that Dee is good at giving advice in the bathroom, and when Dee hears someone say they think she’s awesome Dee doesn’t feel so alone. Dee is beginning to realize she’s better at helping others even if she doesn’t like talking about herself. When someone says Dee is having inappropriate conversations in the bathroom, the principal wants to talk to Dee. What happens then?