NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST! "A must-read.""Achingly tender.""Intimate and astonishing."For fans of You've Reached Sam and If I Stay, a hauntingly beautiful, ultimately hopeful novel-in-verse about...

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST!

"A must-read."
"Achingly tender."
"Intimate and astonishing."

For fans of You've Reached Sam and If I Stay, a hauntingly beautiful, ultimately hopeful novel-in-verse about a girl in between life and death, by National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.

Gospel is the Keeper of the Leaving Room--a place all young people must phase through when they die. The young are never ready to leave; they need a moment to remember and a Keeper to help their wispy souls along.

When a random door opens and a Keeper named Melodee arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel's seriousness melts and Melodee's fear of connection fades, but still--are Keepers allowed to fall in love? Now they must find a way out of the Leaving Room and be unafraid of their love. In a novel that takes place over four minutes, National Book Award finalist Amber McBride explores connection, memory, and hope in ways that are unforgettable and poignant.

Author: Amber McBride
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published: 10/14/2025
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.60w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781250908087
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2025
Publishers Weekly 08/11/2025
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 10/01/2025
School Library Journal 10/01/2025 pg. 86
Booklist 10/01/2025

About the Author
Amber McBride's debut young adult novel, Me (Moth), was a finalist for the National Book Awards and won the 2022 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent, among many other accolades. Her second young adult novel, We Are All So Good at Smiling, was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and praised for offering "important messages, uniquely delivered" by Kirkus in a starred review. Gone Wolf, Amber McBride's middle grade fiction debut, was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.