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The Things We Miss

Author Leah Stecher
Narrator Jennifer Jill Araya
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
Run Time 1 minute
Format Audio
Genre Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Friends and friendships.

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What to expect

"Magical and heartbreaking! You will read this book in one gulp." - Jennifer L. Holm, New York Times-bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish

When You Reach Me meets Starfish in this heartfelt contemporary middle grade about a misfit girl who finds a way to skip all of the hard parts of life.

J.P. Green has always felt out of step. She doesn’t wear the right clothes, she doesn’t say the right things, and her body…well, she’d rather not talk about it. And seventh grade is shaping up to be the worst year yet. So when J.P. discovers a mysterious door in her neighbor’s treehouse, she doesn’t hesitate before walking through. The door sends her three days forward in time.

Suddenly, J.P. can skip all the worst parts of seventh grade: Fitness tests in P.E., oral book reports, awkward conversations with her mom…she can avoid them all and no one even knows she was gone.

But can you live a life without any of the bad parts? Are there experiences out there that you can’t miss?

This moving middle grade novel about mental health, body acceptance, and self-confidence asks what it truly means to show up for the people you love—and for yourself.

Critics Review

Magical and heartbreaking! You will read this book in one gulp.
Jennifer L. Holm, New York Times-bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish
THE THINGS WE MISS is a remarkable book. It has big questions, hard truths, and powerful magic…and it’s also a great story. It is a book that will make you think, a book that will make you feel, a book that will make you cheer, a book that will make you cry, a book that will keep you turning the pages. Do not miss THE THINGS WE MISS.
Dan Gemeinhart, New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Children and The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
“This book is both heartbreaking and magical. I couldn’t put it down; I had to know the characters I grew to love would be okay.”
Stacy McAnulty, author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl and Forever Twelve.
Balancing deeply authentic day-to-day moments with an element of unexpected magic, Leah Stecher offers a thoughtful meditation on how we must choose to live fully in a difficult world, even when it hurts us. This is a book about how friendship binds us to ourselves and reality, and why we fight for it.
Laurel Snyder, author of Orphan Island and My Jasper June
An emotionally resonant story that deftly blends fantasy and reality. Readers will see themselves in the smart, likable protagonist as she learns to embrace all experiences, even the most challenging.
Barbara Dee, author of Maybe He Just Likes You and Unstuck
A poignant excavation of grief, love, and the messy complications of friendship. No one should miss this gem of a book.
Megan E. Freeman, author of Alone
An achingly relatable blend of inexplicable magic and the all-too-real heartbreaks of the everyday world. Complex characters, an engaging storyline, and an authentic dive into the tragedies and triumphs of middle school and family life make this one a must-read.
Monica Roe, author of Air
An enchanting, heartbreaking, and magical look at how the choices we make impact not just how we live, but who we are.
Chris Baron, author of The Magical Imperfect and All of Me
Stecher’s magical debut is a reminder to be present, even when life’s challenges seem insurmountable. A stunning middle grade novel with memorable characters who take readers on a journey to self love, acceptance, and healing. I loved everything about this story!
María José Fitzgerald, author of Turtles of the Midnight Moon
Bitter and sweet are two sides of the same coin, and Leah Stecher’s beautiful novel shows us how we can’t have one without the other. The Things We Miss is deftly written, full of humor and heartache and so, so much heart. I simply loved it.
Tziporah Cohen, author of No Vacancy
Stecher’s speculative, heartrending debut eloquently portrays the joys and sorrows of being in seventh grade–and the importance of remaining present.
Publishers Weekly, starred review
A heartwarming (and heartbreaking) story you won’t want to skip through.
BCCB
In the resonant novel The Things We Miss, a girl learns that running away doesn’t solve problems, and that being present is an act of love.
Foreword Reviews
A powerful story about the joy and pain of growing up.
Kirkus Reviews

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