Let's be clear: this is a genuinely good book. Nelson can write, and the grief narrative is honest and moving in ways that most YA doesn't attempt. The poetry-on-scraps device works, the musical elements add texture, and the emotional journey feels earned.

But—and this is important—this is not for 13-year-olds, despite what the genre label suggests. The intimate scenes are detailed and frequent enough that Common Sense Media specifically calls them out, and multiple parent reviews flag the content as mature. Lennie's coping mechanism involves making out with two different boys (one being her dead sister's boyfriend), and while it's portrayed as part of her grief spiral, it's still pretty steamy.

The book's real strength is that it doesn't offer easy answers about grief. Lennie doesn't just cry prettily and then feel better. She makes questionable choices, feels guilty, struggles with whether moving forward means betraying her sister. That's real. That's valuable. But it requires emotional maturity to process.

Bottom line: If you've got a 15-17 year old who reads at a high level and can handle mature content, this is a beautiful, literary exploration of loss. If your kid is 12 or 13, even if they're a strong reader, wait a couple years. The writing will still be there, and they'll get more out of it when they're ready.