Kirkus praises Renée Watson’s EVERYTHING NEW AGAIN in starred review: “Watson’s masterful storytelling…is compelling and deeply satisfying. An intensely emotional and beautifully written narrative”

EVERYTHING NEW AGAIN by Renée Watson
Review Issue Date: August 1, 2026
Online Publish Date: July 6, 2026
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: October 13, 2026
Section: Teen

“Bliss knows some classmates think of her as the “Weird Girl” because her family owns a funeral home; when she meets Solomon, who’s wrestling with his own big questions about life, she finds a meaningful connection.

Winter break will bring some relief from feeling isolated, although her best friend, Alex, “the only other girl in this school with brown skin,” will be spending it in Mexico City with her family. A floral delivery to Mitchell’s Family Funeral Home brings Solomon into the Black 17-year-old’s world. Solomon is a Black biracial boy who normally lives in Portland with his dad; he’s spending the holiday in Bliss’ small Eastern Oregon town with his white mother, the local florist, hoping to discover why she’s never been part of his life. He’s surprised by how comfortable Bliss is with death, but it’s clear there’s a mutual attraction—and their connection grows. It feels natural to spend time together, even as Solomon has difficult talks with his mother and Bliss pushes back against her mom’s strictness. This poignant novel of young love by Newbery Medalist Watson unfolds in the leads’ alternating first-person narration and will grab readers by the heart and not let go. Watson’s masterful storytelling, which includes realistic portrayals of the central characters, is compelling and deeply satisfying.

An intensely emotional and beautifully written narrative. (Fiction. 12-18)”

—Kirkus Reviews