The Baby Project

(spoilers)
Awk! There was nothing on the back of this book to prepare me for the ending. 11-year-old Jessica is excited about her coming baby sibling - excited enough to do a school project about babies. When her baby sister arrives, the entire family is rapt, and in love. As her parents adapt to reversed roles, her mother home, and father out working, the different siblings each find their own way to show their love for little Lucie. Until Lucie suddenly dies in the night, cot death.
The family spirals into discord, as everyone tries to come to terms with the terrible loss. By the end of the book, they have managed to pull together again, and find happiness in their relationships. The books ends on an upbeat note, as Jessica and her show more brother reforge their close bond, and Jessica's mother starts to recover from her depression.
As a whole, the story is very positive, showing how a family can adapt to change, and how different people react to change in different ways. but the baby dying hit my like a sucker punch, I wasn't expecting it at all, and I was numb for many pages afterwards.
I'd give this to a reader looking for stories about a death in the family, especially about the death of a baby. It is a short book, and easy to read. show less

Fresh from reading Mercy Among the Children: A Novel I thought 'I need something a bit less traumatic, a lighter, easy read. Maybe a YA book will do the trick'.

This book was light-hearted, easy to read and funny. Great, just what I needed. Then - wham - I end up spending another ten minutes in tears.

Thanks a lot, Sarah Ellis. ;-)

Jessica's family are overjoyed with the addition of Lucie, their new baby sister. The book spends a lot of time on Jessica and her family's day-to-day life, including Jessica and her best friend, Margaret's, Baby Project for school. But one night, while Jessica is at a friend's place, baby Lucie dies of cot death. The book then follows the family's reactions as each member grieves differently. At the end of the novel Jessica is beginning to celebrate Lucie's short life.