“There are three people at our house: me, / my mom, / and my granny. / And that is how it has been / for as long as I can remember.” But Pearl’s Granny no longer remembers who Pearl is. Pearl’s feelings about Granny’s illness, and then her death, are at the heart of this tender story in the voice of a young poet. For Pearl, home has always been her haven—the place where she is seen and understood. In the schoolyard she feels invisible. In the classroom, her teacher, Miss Bruff, asks the students to write poems “with lots of rhyme and rhythm … there is no rhythm in me. / There is no rhythm in my life.” As she navigates her feelings of sadness and grief, Pearl finds some unexpected connections—with her teacher, with a classmate—and the ability to “feel happy-sad / that life goes on.” Sally Murphy writes about dying, death, and grief with honesty and depth in this short, surprising novel featuring delicate black-and-white illustrations on almost every page. (Ages 8–10)