Ten-year-old Comfort Snowberger knows a thing or two about death. Her family owns the town funeral home and she has attended 247 funerals. She can tell you which casseroles are worth tasting, whom to sit next to, and whom to avoid at all costs. Number one on that avoid list is Comfort’s sniveling, whining, unpredictable cousin Peach, who ruins every family occasion. So when Great-great-aunt Florentine drops dead—just like that—Comfort expects a family gathering to remember. What she doesn’t count is: One, she has to watch over Peach after the funeral. And two, her best friend, Declaration, has suddenly turned downright mean. Now, even if it means missing the most important funeral of her life, all Comfort really wants to do is sit in her closet with her dog, Dismay, and hide. But life is full of surprises. And the biggest one of all is learning what it takes to handle them.
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"Picked this up randomly at the library - it would be a great book to read out loud to your kids if you can get through it without being too choked up. I probably couldn't. The names of the characters kind of bothered me because I kept thinking they should somehow be symbolic but couldn't quite figure out how. Kind of gave me a headache. And I hate how things ended with Declaration - it seemed kind of truncated. But I'm glad I read it. I'd assign it maybe to kids in 4-6th grade maybe?"
— Laura (4 out of 5 stars)
“A memorable tribute to the joys of living.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Wiles succeeds wonderfully in capturing ‘the messy glory’ of grief and life.”
— Booklist“As she faces the changes that life throws her way, Comfort grabs onto the reader’s heart and refuses to let it go.”
— BookPage" Comfort Snowberger's family owns and runs the town funeral home, and Comfort has an easy attitude towards death, until first her great-uncle Edisto, then her great-great-aunt Florentine, then her beloved dog Dismay all die. She must re-examine her feelings, not only about death, but also about her cousin Peach who is a thorn in her side, and about being thankful for what you have, while you have it. "
— Jan, 2/7/2014" this book was sad :( "
— Caroline, 2/7/2014" I thought it was a pretty good book, but it was sort of sad. I liked the fact that it had a lot of interesting characters. Peach was my favorite because he's kind of funny. "
— Jack, 2/4/2014" I can not say enough wonderful things about this book. It was absolutely beautiful. I cried, laughed and felt like a child again. "
— Sheralyn, 2/2/2014" I'm not going toblie; this one made me cry. More than a little. "
— Andréa, 1/27/2014" this book has a lot of good things in it!! it really makes you understand things better!! "
— Raneem, 1/20/2014" Wonderful story that kept me listening even after I thought the worst had happened because the protagonist, Comfort, had such STRONG hope it hadn't. "
— Amanda, 1/18/2014" This is in my top 5 favorite books!!! It was very sad, though. "
— Kelly, 1/14/2014" Beautiful story both heart-breaking and heart-warming! "
— Patty, 1/11/2014" WOW! this book broke my heart, I loved it. "
— Minnie, 1/10/2014" I own this book. I'd love for pages 47-53 to be read at my funeral. "
— Denise, 12/19/2013" Quirky characters in a southern melieu with names like Comfort, and Peach find hope and forgiveness during funerals and floods. Funny, heartfelt and finally hopeful. Middle Grades "
— Lu, 11/27/2013" i love the authors humor. "
— Danielle, 10/21/2013" Very good, but very sad. 5 stars! =D "
— Lara, 10/16/2013" it was all about dying.............. "
— Maeve, 10/14/2013" I want to visit the Snowbergers. I wept through the last four chapters. Powerful. "
— Sarah, 10/2/2013" Jennifer was right, have some tissues ready for this one. "
— Julie, 8/13/2013" I read this book to get an idea if it would be a good book to read to my students. Quirky characters but a good moral to the story. I'd recommend it to young readers. "
— Maria, 6/29/2013" A nice little book. "
— Jean, 12/20/2012" Wow, it's been a long time since I have read a book and really loved it as much as this one. I never read books twice but this one I will read again for the use of language and the sweet characters and story line. LOVED IT! "
— Elaine, 11/23/2012" For younger readers. Handles the subject of death quite well. "
— Judy, 10/19/2012" To sad for me to finish! "
— Mia, 10/8/2012" I find the book full of explicit emotions. I am not sure how children will react to it. "
— Gladys, 12/14/2011" Books never make me cry, but when I read the part where Dismay, her dog, dies, I almost did. It's very sad but my favorite book that I've read! "
— Alexis, 12/10/2011" It was a very nice story, though sad when the dog disappeared. "
— Clara, 9/9/2011" What a fantastic book. I love Comfort, Dismay, and even Peach, loathsome Peach. The characters are fantastic and the story so sweet and sad and real. This is one of those books that I wish I could write...so good. "
— Jena, 8/25/2011" The ending is so sad. I hate Declaration, and Comfort doesn't deserve her as a bestfriend. It's great that she had despised Declaration in the end and came to like Peach. It's a switch.<br/><br/>Truly sad that Dismay is gone. It's just sad. This is the book that made me so sad, I almost cried. "
— Ayessa, 5/20/2011" Talk about don't judge a book by it's cover. That is exactly what I did. But it turned out that it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!! "
— Alyssa, 5/18/2011" The reason I gave it a 4 is because Comfort was so mean to Peach. "
— Devon, 5/17/2011" This is one of the most perfect children's books written. Period. Loved it, read it again, loved it again. "
— Julie, 5/9/2011" The setting of this book was very well-done. It got the southern feel, especially in the characters of the great aunts/uncles, etc. The plot left a little to be desired in my opinion, but the characters were well done, as well as the atmosphere of the book. "
— Lena, 5/4/2011" A good book about a girl that lives in a funeral home and her experiences when her own family members die. I enjoyed reading it and it made me cry. It was a great lesson in overcoming our weaknesses through our trials. "
— Andi, 4/25/2011" Amazing!!!!!!!! READ THIS BOOK SO GOOD!! "
— Tay, 3/5/2011" I had to read this for school and I loved it. "
— Vera, 2/23/2011" Good book if you kinda wanna know how a funeral home works but over all it was a good book but if you dont like books about death i wouldn't recremend this book for you.. "
— Justine, 2/10/2011Deborah Wiles is the author of several books, including Each Little Bird That Sings and Revolution, both finalists for the National Book Award.
Kim Mai Guest is an award-winning voice actor for audiobooks and video games. She can also be heard on television shows, such as G.I. Joe: Renegades, Batman: the Brave and the Bold, and Avatar, and in movies such asChill Out Scooby Doo and Dead Space: Aftermath. Her video game work includes Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, and The Lord of the Rings.