Getting Near to Baby

By Audrey Couloumbis

Two sisters on a roof confront grief, family tension, and the struggle to find their voice.

3.8/5 Goodreads · 3,672 ratings

224 pages· 41,096 words· Est. 5.5 hour read

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Bookroo's summary

Willa Jo and Little Sister find solace on Aunt Patty's roof, grappling with their baby sister's death and their mother's depression. As they clash with their well-meaning but controlling aunt, the sisters must navigate their grief and find a way to communicate their pain. Will they find the courage to come down and face the world below? This poignant tale of sisterhood and healing explores the complexities of family and the power of understanding.

From the publisher

A Southern charmer for fans of Newbery Honor book Three Times Lucky by Sheila TurnageAudrey Couloumbis’s masterful debut novel brings to mind Karen Hesse, Katherine Paterson, and Betsy Byars’s The Summer of the Swans–it is a story you will never forget. Willa Jo and Little Sister are up on the roof at Aunt Patty’s house. Willa Jo went up to watch the sunrise, and Little Sister followed, like she always does. But by mid-morning, they are still up on that roof, and soon it’s clear it wasn’t just the sunrise that brought them there. The trouble is, coming down would mean they’d have to explain, and they just can’t find the words. This is a funny, sometimes heartbreaking, story about sisters, about grief, and about healing. Two girls must come to terms with the death of their baby sister, their mother’s unshakable depression, and the ridiculously controlling aunt who takes them in and means well but just doesn’t understand children. Willa Jo has to try and make things right in their new home, but she and Aunt Patty keep butting heads. Until the morning the two girls climb up to the roof of her house. Aunt Patty tries everything she can think of to get them down, but in the end, the solution is miraculously simple. A Newbery Honor Book An ALA Notable Book A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year