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Amelia's older sister, Clara, drowned in a boating accident at the town's lake a few years ago. Amelia is still struggling with her grief and her own shame of how she and Clara parted on the fateful day of the accident. In her middle school, 6th graders are asked to write a letter to their 8th grade selves, and then the letters are given back to them in 8th grade. But Amelia's teacher accidentally gives her Clara's letter instead of her own. Clara has listed the things she wanted to accomplish by 8th grade. Amelia decides to seek closure by trying to complete the things Clara never got to do. But Amelia is a different person from Clara, and what meant a lot to Clara doesn't necessarily have much meaning for Amelia. Along the way, she is helped by her best friend, Taylor, and Clara's old crush, Twitch.
The concept of the book had a lot of promise, but the execution just fell through in too many places. There were virtually irrelevant side stories. There was a chapter involving a Ouiji board, which felt completely out of place and absurd. Among the problems there:Amelia didn't react the way her character would have and magnets don't attract plastic. As the book moves along the initial aim of completing her sister's list of goals seems to get lost somewhat among other ideas the author wants to get across. By the end of the book we'd been on a scattershot ride all over the place, and the overly happy ending was completely unconvincing. ( )

Eighth grade should be a time for excitement and fun, what with the "eighth grade prank" and being the cool group. Our protagonist doesn't see it that way, she can't, her sister died just before her 8th grade year, and Amelia has been sad and quick to cry ever since. She wants to move on, she wants to feel less sad, it seems impossible. Then, she finds a letter that her sister wrote that outlines what she would have done in her 8th grade year, had she lived. Will doing the things on the list bring her to closure with her sister's death? Some difficult times still lay ahead. ( )

After reading a slew of middle grade books about grief, I have to be honest and say that this one just doesn't compare to the competition. Nor is it as good as [b: House Arrest|24905366|House Arrest|K.A. Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429322011s/24905366.jpg|44555771]. I went in expecting a lot but what I got was a thin plot and poor character development. The characters aren't relatable because they don't ring true. The writing quality is average. The plot has too many poorly executed scenes which don't flow and don't justify the outcome. The book reads incredibly fast which for me means that there is nothing I want to sit with before turning the page.

The story is from Amelia's perspective. Her sister, Clara, died 3 years ago, in a boating accident, and Amelia hasn't been able to find peace. Her friends try to help her, but their efforts backfire, until, for some unrealistic, unknown reason, Amelia snaps out of it.

Here are some of the plot points I found particularly frustrating.
1. At the beginning of the year, the teacher gives each student a letter they wrote the previous year describing the things they hope to accomplish. Amelia accidentally gets Clara's letter. They weren't in the same grade, so how does this happen? Convenient, but unrealistic.
2. Amelia decides to accomplish Clara's goals. This is a flimsy idea on which to build a story. For example, Clara wanted to make the baseball team, so Amelia, who doesn't play baseball, decides to train and tryout for the team. This is an unrealistic way to honor someone's memory.
3. Twitch, a friend of Clara, and now Amelia, is making a pebble mural in the woods in Clara's honor. Would this really happen 3 years after her sister's death? If so, there is not enough development of Clara's character to justify so many people going to such lengths in her memory.
4. Through the whole book Amelia has an issue with being at the lake. While working off a debt at her dad's BBQ truck, which happens to be at the lake, her sister's friends come in, say a few nice things, and all of a sudden Amelia no longer has a problem with the lake. By the end of the book she's jumping in the lake. Poor writing is all I can say.
5. Don't get me started on the undeveloped and last minute prank idea.
6. Don't get me started on the fact that the particulars of the boating accident are never explained.

Here's a list of much better books on death and grief.
[b: The Thing About Jellyfish|24396876|The Thing About Jellyfish|Ali Benjamin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439121354s/24396876.jpg|43981451]
[b: The Truth As Told By Mason Buttle|35008529|The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle|Leslie Connor|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1502092914s/35008529.jpg|56288665]
[b: The Distance to Home|25721449|The Distance To Home|Jenn Bishop|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463027064s/25721449.jpg|45556505]
[b: The Ethan I Was Before|25337548|The Ethan I Was Before|Ali Standish|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467148345s/25337548.jpg|45074389] ( )

Holt pens a story about a young girl trying to go on while struggling with the death of her older sister. This is also a story about family and friendship. It is recommended for students and grades 4-6. The characters are well defined and very relatable. ( )