"There are so many things to be scared of in this world: blooms of jellies. A sixth extinction. A middle school dance. But maybe we can stop feeling so afraid. Maybe instead of feeling like a mote of dust, we can remember that all the creatures on this Earth are made from stardust. 
 And we are the only ones who get to know it. 
 That's the thing about jellyfish: They'll never understand that. All they can do is drift along, unaware. 
 Humans may be newcomers to this planet. We may be plenty fragile. But we're also the only ones who can decide to change." 
 I really like participating in The Morning News' Tournament of Books (ToB). I get to "meet" all kinds of interesting people. I participate in a comments section which is relatively well-behaved and I get to read interesting books. The ToB novels are fascinating and I have encountered some wonderful stories and worlds over the years. However, they are not the only books mentioned in the ToB. 
 During this year's completion, there were some books mentioned about death and dying. This middle school book was mentioned and for whatever reason it appealed to me. I am so glad I took a short break from the ToB, dropped all my other books and read this. 
 Benjamin gets middle schoolers. She understands how they tick, how they think and how they react to stress and sadness in their lives. As I read about Suzy and her friend, Franny, I kept forgetting that this was a novel. The tone and writing style really put me in touch with Suzy and her sadness. I really was rooting that Susy's plans would come together and help her deal with her grief. 
 I highly recommend this book to middle schoolers themselves and their teachers and parents.