Grief at any age is difficult. Twelve year old Josh has just lost his mother in a car accident. He has no one to show him what he should do next. His younger brother has started sleeping with him. His father has been busy trying to build a time machine. Josh has never felt so alone. At one point Josh wishes he were Jewish because they are organized about death. It is difficult as an adult dealing with death. I've worked with kids as young as five who have lost a parent and it is always tough. There are no set or exact answers to the grieving process. This is what Josh is looking for. I have several friends who will never read this book no matter how good I tell them it is because it is a sad book. However I will definitely recommend this book and especially to those who have lost a loved one ( )

I used our public library's Library2Go service to check out this #bookaday and Diamond Willow Award selection for my iPad (the only Diamond Willow selection available this way). Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely and I am surprised to read that this was Austen's first novel (Wow!). Told in journal entry (absent of any deep emotion :) according to 12 year old Josh), this novel follows Josh's family as they deal with their grief following the loss of their mother in a car accident. While Dad attempts to build a time machine to undo the accident, burying himself in the basement, Josh is left to care for himself and his 4 year old brother who is speaking to their mother through his Power Ranger and walking backwards. Despite such grief, this story has a lot of humour (although the ending left me very teary). ( )

Although this book starts off a bit slowly, you begin to feel a lot of compassion for Josh and his younger brother. When Josh finally finds out who put the snake in his mother's car, the story seems to come together and the family finally seems to be able to get some closure. I loved how the author incorporates all kinds of different grieving customs from different religions. You really get inside the main character's head. ( )

Walking Backward was a surprise hit for me. I've read a couple of books from Orca Publishing and was underwhelmed by all of them, so I didn't have high expectation for Walking Backwards. This was the second book in a week to make me cry. Walking Backwards should come with a box of tissues. You have to be made of stone not to cry when reading Walking Backward.

12 year old Josh has the world on his shoulder after his mom dies. His father is hiding out in the basement building a time machine, so he must tend to his little brother, and deal with his grief all on his own. Josh also goes to a therapist which results in the journal style of Walking Backward. Josh is a very strong and intelligent 12 year old boy. I love how he would go off on tangents about different types of snakes while trying to figure out who put the snake in the car that caused his mothers fatal car accident. Josh had a unique and compelling voice through the story. I was compelled to keep reading to see how his story would end.

The relationship that Josh has with his little brother is touching and overwhelmingly sad. These were the parts of the book that had me in tears. How do you explain to a little boy that his mommy is never coming back? How do you explain it to him when you are just a child yourself? It was fascinating to see how Josh handled this problem.

The ending of Walking Backward closes up nicely. Josh gets some answers about what caused his mothers accident and is able to start the healing process.

Overall, Walking Backward was a very well written book. With strong interactions among the characters and a solid ending. I would recommended Walking Backward to anyone who likes a good cry. ( )

Like the main character's mother, I have a phobia of snakes. It took me almost a month to deal with the snake on the front cover before I could start reading. Once I started the book I found it slow moving and did not feel involved with the characters. I've finally given up trying to finish the book because it does not seem to be going anywhere. However, tweens who have just lost a parent or friend may find comfort in the book, particularly the different mourning practices of different religions. ( )