All the Sunshine in the World

By Caroline Brooks DuBois

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H9DGYZ1Y
• ISBN13: 9798260513385
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Bound to Stay Bound Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Great read! I enjoyed following Tolly’s journey and found myself thinking of her when I put the book

I enjoyed reading this book and felt like I knew Tolly. It’s a great perspective that we as humans may have inner struggles in our minds that others may not know of, even at a young age. And it is an example of perseverance and self discovery for Tolly to find and “be okay” with herself. I love the vivid descriptions of the woods when the Luddites were adventuring and how Tolly opened herself up to new friends, experiences, and found happiness.