Sorry For Your Loss
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

Evie loves helping at her family's Jewish funeral home and hopes to become a funeral director someday. She has only been allowed to assist with tasks like cleaning and handing out tissues, in hopes that with time she may be promoted to junior funeral director. When a boy named Oren, who has lost his parents in a car accident, and his uncle schedule a meeting with Evie's parents, she is asked to lend a hand. Thrilled to finally be helping with a grieving family, Evie prepares to answer any questions Oren may have. However, when Evie meets with Oren, she discovers that he hasn't spoken a word since the accident. After a rocky first meeting, Evie becomes committed to helping Oren express his grief in a different manner. Levy does an excellent job explaining Jewish funeral practices and traditions throughout the story while also depicting genuine feelings and questions children may have about death. Sorry for Your Loss is a sincere story about hope, healing, and a blooming friendship amid grief.

Evie Walman does not have, nor does she want, any friends. A lot of the kids in her class think it's creepy that her parents own a funeral home. It's certainly not a normal summer job for a rising eighth grader, but Evie takes her position as junior funeral director very seriously. And despite what anyone may think, she is equally as serious about not making any friends--that just leads to getting hurt. When she meets Oren Katzman after the tragic deaths of his parents, she is eager to help him through his grief during the arduous funeral process, but certainly not as his friend. At first this seems easy for Evie, especially since Oren hasn't spoken since the accident, but when her parents invite him to help out at the funeral home as well, the two can no longer avoid their growing (if mostly silent) friendship. This middle-grade novel is both a celebration of life and a peaceful acknowledgement of the harsh realities of death. It is a heartfelt and expertly written tale of loss, family, and friendship that will have readers blinking back their tears as they follow Evie and Oren as they navigate their way through their new companionship. Characters are White and Jewish. A beautiful and sincere story of death, healing, and family. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Evie loves helping at her family's Jewish funeral home and hopes to become a funeral director someday. She has only been allowed to assist with tasks like cleaning and handing out tissues, in hopes that with time she may be promoted to junior funeral director. When a boy named Oren, who has lost his parents in a car accident, and his uncle schedule a meeting with Evie's parents, she is asked to lend a hand. Thrilled to finally be helping with a grieving family, Evie prepares to answer any questions Oren may have. However, when Evie meets with Oren, she discovers that he hasn't spoken a word since the accident. After a rocky first meeting, Evie becomes committed to helping Oren express his grief in a different manner. Levy does an excellent job explaining Jewish funeral practices and traditions throughout the story while also depicting genuine feelings and questions children may have about death. Sorry for Your Loss is a sincere story about hope, healing, and a blooming friendship amid grief. Grades 4-7. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.