The middle grade debut novel Happy 7 Sad & Everything True by Alex Thayer really hones in on what it's like to be a tween and the growing pains of friendships. Main character Dee isn't as close to her friend Juniper as she used to be. Feeling emotions she doesn't know how to process, Dee spends a lot of time hiding in the bathroom. Caught crying one day she connects with a friend on the other side, but she doesn't know who it is. Dee realizes that she's actually a good listener and she likes to give advice. Unfortunately for Dee her excessive use of the bathroom doesn't go unnoticed and she's at risk of losing that lifeline.

Middle grade ages are tough, it's why no one would ever go back to them, and I felt author Alex Thayer did a great job at capturing that. I felt the story was a little slower paced than I would have liked, but it did have quite a bit of build up before it all came to a head. I would recommend this to all tweens, especially those struggling to belong.

Thank you Simon Kids for the gifted copy.