Words Apart

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

A hybrid middle grade novel exploring the fraught relationship between sisters as they navigate their differences and their parents’ divorce—told in words and comic panels

Olive collects words. Rare words, common words, fancy words, funny words. She expresses herself through definitions, poetry, and crossword puzzles that she creates.Her sister, Mattie, could not be more opposite. Mattie struggles with words and prefers pictures instead, expressing herself through cartoons and sketches.Despite their differences, the two girls are inseparable. Or at least, they were. After their dad moves to Durham, North Carolina, where he works as a professor during the week, and Olive develops a crush on Max Tucker and begins making friends other than Mattie, the sisters’ dynamic changes. With their dad gone, and acting suspiciously when he’s home, their mom hovering over them about grades, and their own relationship fracturing, Olive and Mattie— through crossword puzzles and sketches, definitions and doodles—come to realize that love doesn’t always look how we envision it and that sometimes letting someone go is the best way to show you love them.

About the Author

Aimee Lucido is a crossword maker, trivia writer, and the author of several books for kids, including Emmy in the Key of Code, Recipe for Disaster, and Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta. She got her MFA in writing for children and young adults at Hamline University and lives with her husband, daughter, and dog in Irvington, New York. When she’s not making puzzles or writing books, Aimee likes to cook, run, and watch reality TV.aimeelucido.comTwitter: @AimeeLucido  Instagram: @AimeeLucido