A Year to the Day

"Suspense, unanswered questions, and raw emotion blend together in an honest examination of one family's varying symptoms and stages of grief." - Publishers Weekly

"The intense magic of Benway's storytelling will be most welcome to those who loved her Far From the Tree." - Youth Services Book Review

"An emotional gut punch. Give this to empathetic readers who are ready for an emotional journey less about closure than understanding." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Simultaneously gut-wrenching and heartening, as grief and love so often are. Its [A Year to the Day] unusual structure effectively relates a timeless story in a new and engaging way as Benway offers beautiful, profound reflections on loss, healing and forgiveness. Ultimately, Leo's story is a lesson in self-compassion and hope, reminding readers that moving forward doesn't mean forgetting the past, and although love can be painful, it's worth holding on to." - BookPage (Starred Review)

"If you've even once wept at NBC's This Is Us, you particularly owe it to yourself to pick this one up."

"The book really is something special."

"Readers will appreciate the explorations of family, stigma, and vulnerability. Benway is looking to follow in the Caroline Cooney footsteps of smart, realism-grounded stories."

"A moving exploration of grief in all its unpredictable messiness... An intelligent, compassionate examination of a family enduring a nightmare." - Kirkus Reviews

"The backward chronology is a bold and worthy experiment... A Year to the Day is a moving exploration of how the mind both punishes and protects, and a reminder of how fortunate we are to love and be loved, even if only for a short time." - New York Times Book Review

"Told in reverse chronological order, A Year to the Day will claim a permanent home in your heart." - School Library Journal

"Benway adeptly leads readers through a tale of love, loss, and self-discovery. Expect to cry real tears at this one."

"Far from the Tree is the kind of book that strikes close to a reader's heart. I had to know what happened to Grace, Maya, and Joaquin, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Beautiful."

"Far from the Tree is a touching story about the strength and love of unconventional families, and the unbreakable bond of siblings near and far. Robin Benway's characters are authentically crafted, full of heart, hurt, and hope."

"A beautifully written story about the families we're born with and the families we choose, as well as the power - and potential pain - of that choice."

"A deeply moving novel...The trials the three teens face are always confronted directly and never diminished; their relationships, both new and old, are complicated and beautiful."

"Far from the Tree dives deep into themes of heartbreak and love, and presents a profound, emotional meditation on what it means to be family."

Praise for Far From the Tree: "Family issues are neither airbrushed nor oversimplified. From the first page to the last, this compassionate, funny, moving, compulsively readable novel about what makes a family gets it right." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Equally heartwarming and heart-wrenching... Benway (Emmy & Oliver) delves into the souls of these characters as they wrestle to overcome feelings of inadequacy, abandonment, and betrayal, gradually coming to understand themselves and each other." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A brilliant exercise in empathy."

"A sensitive exploration of what it means to be a family...With an abundance of warmth and humor, the novel continues to circle back to the message that love doesn't require perfection - that perhaps it reveals itself most fully when we don't quite get it right, but keep trying."