From theNew York Timesbestselling author of the Dear Martin series comes a spin-off novel written in prose and letters-in-verse about a thirteen-year-old girl. As she navigates cancer, family challenges, and newfound friendship during her initial chemo treatment, she discovers that hope can bloom in the most unexpected places.

Absolutely incredibleI read it in one sitting and finished in tears. Stone shows so much care and nuance here. Dasia will stay with me forever. Andrea Beatriz Arango, author of Newbery Honor bookIveliz Explains it All

Unflinching, fearless, and strikingly original. Soman Chainani, author of the bestselling School for Good and Evil series andYoung World

After nineteen days of induction chemotherapy, Dasia Monae Riley knows no one else should be in her hospital room . . .

But there she is: Jameson Jimmy Jeffs. Another cancer patient whos seemingly everything Dasia is not: rich, well cared for, and a smidgechildish(in Dasias opinion).

However, Dasia soon discovers that their commonalities go beyond a random, incurable disease . . . like older brothers who are gone, baby brothers who need them, and struggles with friends at school.

As Dasia and Jimmy chat, Dasias memories unfold in the unsent letters (read: poems) Dasia wrote to her incarcerated older brother. And over the course of one life-changing night, two girls who are at their lowest fight to keep each other uplifted. When you hit rock bottom, what does it take to survive and allow yourself to hope again?

In a spin-off to the Dear Martin series,New York Timesbestselling author Nic Stone delivers a heart-wrenching story of resilience, connection, and the fight to stay alive when battling illness and bearing the weight of difficult circumstances.

Nic Stoneis the author of many novels, including the #1New York TimesbestsellerDear Martin, itsNew York Timesbestselling sequelDear Justyce, and the final national bestselling installmentDear Manny, a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection and a CBC Kids Top Ten Favorite in the 9th12th grade category. She also penned the young adult titlesOdd One Out, an NPR Best Book and an ALA Rainbow Book Top Ten;Jackpot, the YALSA Quick Pick selection that takes a searing look at economic inequality; andChaos Theory, a Southern Book Prize finalist and a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection. Her middle-grade novels includeClean Getaway, aNew York Timesbestseller, andFast Pitch, a YALSA Quick Pick selection. Nic lives in Atlanta and will continue to write the books she feels are missing.

• Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
• Publish Date: October 6, 2026
• Pages: 192
• Language: English
• Type: Hardcover
• EAN/UPC: 9798217229307
• Dimensions: 8.3 X 5.5 X 0.5 inches | 0.63 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Kids