Seven Clues to Home by Gae Polisner and Norah Raleigh Baskin

As I am sure you may know, I am a big fan of the young adult novels by Gae Polisner.  Her writing is phenomenal.  Seven Clues to Home teams up Gae with award winning author Nora Raleigh Baskin to bring us this incredible middle grade novel.  Seven Clues is a beautiful story about love and grief and the importance of home.  Polisner and Baskin have given us a novel that dives in to the grief our young protagonist feels and the path to healing she travels along.  With the words and clues left behind after the untimely death of her best friend, Joy is able to start living again.  She is able to find strength through her journey, a journey that will take her right back to the place that means the most.  Home.  Seven Clues to Home is an incredible story, told by two wonderful authors, that will stick with you longer after you are finished. 

From Amazon:

An endearing story of love and grief as one girl follows the clues in a scavenger hunt left behind by her best friend, perfect for fans of Bridge to Terabithia and Nine, Ten.

WHEN YOU'VE LOST WHAT MATTERS MOST,
HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR WAY BACK HOME?

Joy Fonseca is dreading her 13th birthday, dreading being reminded again about her best friend Lukas's senseless death on this day, one year ago -- and dreading the fact he may have heard what she accidentally blurted to him the night before. Or maybe she's more worried he didn't hear.

Either way, she's decided: she's going to finally open the first clue to their annual birthday scavenger hunt Lukas left for her the morning he died, hoping the rest of the clues are still out there. If they are, they might lead Joy to whatever last words Lukas wrote, and toward understanding how to grab onto the future that is meant to be hers.