All the Sunshine in the World

by Caroline Brooks DuBois

In this riveting novel in verse, thirteen-year-old Tolly fears she was to blame for the accident that killed her older sister. If she could just get her phone back, she might find answers about the day Sunny died. . .

It’s been almost six months since Tolly’s sister died in a distracted driving wreck.

Tolly misses Sunny every minute of every day, but is it wrong to want a semi-normal birthday? What about a new phone, to replace the one she lost soon after the accident? Instead, she gets grieving parents and a disappointing, misspelled cake.

And so Tolly is stuck starting 8th grade without a phone in hand, without answers to the endless questions she has about her sister’s death. Why did it happen… How did it happen… Was it Tolly’s fault? She just needs her old phone back to uncover the truth.

Ironically, thanks to being phone-less, Tolly gets put in charge of a new Luddite club at school, for kids who want to avoid technology. It’s the last place she expected to find herself, but it turns out to be a powerful escape from the unrelenting guilt she feels over Sunny’s death—and it might just be the place for her to get those answers, too.

Acclaimed poet Caroline Brooks DuBois brings one family’s healing into the light in a compelling novel in verse that speaks to this generation’s messy feelings about technology, as well as the timeless complications of being a teenager.

Genres: Middle Grade, Poetry, Realistic Fiction, Death, Childrens, Grief, Fiction

369 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 28, 2026

About the author

Caroline Brooks DuBois received a Master of Fine Arts in poetry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. DuBois writes both poetry and prose and a mixture of the two. She was recognized as a Blue Ribbon Teacher for her dedication to her students and excellence in teaching adolescents. Currently, DuBois is the Director of the Literary Arts Conservatory at Nashville School of the Arts High School in Nashville, Tennessee. She lives with her singer-song writer husband, with whom she’s co-written songs, and their two children and dog.

Reviews

[Carrie Griffin]

A poignant novel in verse about a young girl dealing with grief and guilt after the death of her sister. Tolly's sister, Sunny died about six months before the book and Tolly fears she might be partially to blame for her death. Both her and her parents don't talk about Sunny's car accident. They all deal with grief in their own ways, which makes Tolly feel isolated. Tolly is also dealing with feeling lonely in school after a fallout with her friend group and losing her phone.

Caroline Brooks DuBois beautifully crafted this book. I believe the formatting absolutely fits the story and Tolly's narrative voice. She often feels like she is too much for those around her because she is inquisitive and talks a lot. Many young readers will relate to her story. The story matter is heavy and is handled with such care. Middle school is hard enough for young adults to handle let alone losing a sister and then feeling like you are losing everyone else in your life too.

I listened to the audiobook which was read by Taylor Meskimen. She did a wonderful job narrating Tolly's story and creating a voice for her. It is a format I highly recommend for this book.

Tolly's guilt hurt to read at times and really hit me hard. Losing someone you care about so dearly is hard for anyone, but especially when you believe you could have been at fault. The look into friendships was also a very important of the story. I think the friendship fallouts in this book are realistic, even if they were upsetting. The Luddite club at the school was a great aspect of novel and I enjoyed seeing Tolly open up more with her new friends. One of my favorite scenes happens near the end of the book and it deals with Tolly and one of the members of the club. It is so beautiful.

*Thank you to Recorded Books, RB Media, and Caroline Brooks DuBois for my audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.*

[Lesley]

“Grief is not a word
I understood before last year.
I read about it in books,
took a practice go of it with characters…
I knew how to spell it…
I could use it in a sentence…
But I didn’t know how it applied
to me and my family and daily life,
or what it meant to feel it,
or how it runs deep like a bone bruise,
like hunger or thirst or defeat.” (ARC 346)

When Tolly’s sister dies in an automobile accident, Tolly feels that she just might have caused the accident with her endless texting Sunny to pick her up from school. Six months later she has lost her phone, found her sister’s to try to discover more about the accident but can’t guess the password, and her parents are drowning in grief. No more family dinners, no more family text chains with her dad’s weather jokes and her mother’s reminders. Her mother and father have thrown themselves into their work, almost ignoring her except to give her a pair of hiking boots. But Tolly wasn’t the hiker, the nature lover, the photographer of trees; that was Sunny, so Tolly is even more confused and hurt—and sure they are blaming her for Sunny’s accident.

Meanwhile it’s a new year at school—eighth grade—and her bestie, Willa, is somewhat ignoring her, telling her that she has problems too and that Tolly is a talker, not a listener.
“Please don’t make this about you.
My stuff matters too.…
That’s the problem, Tolly,
You don’t know how to listen.
And only your life matters.” (ARC 105)
Willa now has other friends and has started a club for dancing, the one thing Tolly cannot learn to do.

When her school guidance counselor talks Tolly into being in charge of a “luddite” club, a club for members to put down their phones and meditate and communicate, the club only gets two other members and is combined with Kahil’s Outdoors Club. Through the combined clubs and new friendships with Kahil (KJ), twins Max and Felix, Ash, and Sammie, and a group camping trip with them, Tolly discovers the beauty of nature.
“I can’t look away from the view.
It’s as if I’m part of something
larger—that includes Sunny.” (ARC 222)

However, when Willa decides they are friends again, Tolly is torn between the two groups and the two clubs.
“I am in between—
between wanting
to be inside and to be outside.
Between two friend groups.
Between being a sister and not.
I am in between.” (ARC 272)

But her new love of nature and friends who really care who she is wins out and helps her learn more about her sister.
“Or maybe it’s because Sunny spent
so much time outside, I had
to get outdoors to hear her.
Nature was her language—
and I’m learning to hear it
and to speak it.” (ARC 286)

And Tolly becomes not just a fan but an advocate for the natural environment, helping to organize protests again the proposed school parking lot that would destroy the woods surrounding the school.
“For the first time, I get
why KJ loves these woods—
scraggly trees, weeds, and all—
how Sunny would have loved them,
and I think I love them too.” (ARC 331)

Caroline Brooks DuBois’ newest novel conveys important messages for adolescents on loss, grief, guilt, family, friendships, the negative and distracting power of technology (and social media) and, most of all, the healing nature of, well, nature.

[Kelly Byrd]

I am a sassafrass leaf.
I take multiple shapes.
I contain multitudes.

This beautiful book encompasses a young girl's journey with grief, loss, and the fear of being too much in uncertain situations. I really enjoyed Tolly's inner world, her strong narrative voice, and her lyricism. I think the verse-style of this book really lends itself to saying a lot with a few words.

For anyone who has felt like too much, or dealt with guilt over loss, this is the book for you. I would encourage readers under 10 to have a companion to read this book with, as it is heavily centered on grief and might spark questions about death.

[Holly Wagner]

13 year old Tolly’s sister, Sunny (16 yo) was killed in a car accident the day after Valentine’s. Her family is shattered and barely functional. Tolly thinks her death is her fault. Starting school in the fall seems impossible without her best friend Willa who has distanced herself from Tolly due to her incessant talking—especially about her dead sister. She navigates the shark-pool that is middle school escaping one friend group and finding another then losing them both. Focusing on her grief and all the others who are grieving helps her make it through this awful year of pain.

[Danielle Russell]

All the Sunshine in the World is a beautifully written story about Tolly, who is learning to cope after her big sister died in a car accident on the way to pick her up. She battles with guilt and grief in the aftermath, alongside normal tween issues like frenemies and trying to find her place at school. The book covers some complex emotions, but is written in a way that is easy for the target audience to comprehend and digest.

[Angela]

In my years as a middle school teacher I spent a lot of time curating a classroom library that I knew would allow me to put the right book in the right hands at the right time. All the Sunshine in the World by Caroline Brooks Dubois is a book that would have found a permanent home in my classroom library.

[Megz]

Tolly’s “friend” Willa pissed me off. How can you be mad at your friend for grieving her dead sister?? She acted like Sunny died YEARS ago and Tolly is still grieving and not moving on wtf. I don’t like how the parents acted either. Just not giving Tolly any attention or affection for the whole year basically. Like damn, I felt so bad for Tolly, I just wanted to hug her : (.

[Jill Thomson]

Another stunning, timely and moving novel in verse by Caroline Brooks DuBois. She gently pulls you into the mind of a sweet and vulnerable young girl who is learning to heal after a tragedy. The storytelling is beautifully crafted; a simple joy to read.

[Shereen Cook]

Loved this!! Heart-wrenching and hopeful portrayal of grief and family relationships, alongside relatable middle school challenges. Great character voice and lyrical writing! Really kept me reading to find out what happened in the past...and what would happen next.

[Melanie Olson]

"We got stranded in our own lakes of grief, preventing us from swimming out of the deep, from pulling our heads above the water and lifting our chins into the sun."
-All the Sunshine in the World

[Carol Youssif]

I feel lucky to have an ARC from the publisher to review this book for School Library Journal.
An excellent novel in verse exploring grief, relationships, and nature.
A beautiful story.

[Rowan DuBois]

DuBois does it again! A touching story about grief, nature, and finding your place in this world.

[Jen Nishi]

Solid novel in verse about grief and sisterhood and changing friendships. I ached for Tolly my heat broke for her. I cried.

[Vicky]

In this NIV Tilly feels she’s to blame for the accident that caused her sister’s death. She needs to know more and needs her phone back to find out more. #family #grief

[Amanda]

Tearjerker

So good and such a wonderful description of grief. I also loved all of the transcendentalist allusions! Great characters and a great story