Review: Once for Yes - Allie Millington

Genre: middle-grade, magical realism.

Published: Feiwel & Friends, March 2025

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

"Surprisingly, it was the pigeons that ditched me first. It was the people that stayed..."

Told through the kaleidoscopic view of a apartmentbuilding and its inhabitants comes a warm and heartfelt middle-grade novel about grief, community and the meaning of home. Highly recommended for both adults and kids alike.

The Story:

Welcome to the Odenburg; an authentic New York apartment building with all the character and quirk of a building that has housed its residents for decades. Despite the protests of some of its people, the Odenburg is scheduled for demolition in just over a month, to make room for a newer and more modern apartment building.

No one is more troubled by the news than eleven-year-old Prue from 3B, who refuses to leave her family’s apartment. Not when it was the last place she lived with her sister Lina, before she lost Lina forever. When Prue launches a plan to save their home, the Odenburgh joins in—flickering lights, jamming elevators, triggering fire alarms—all to try and bring a building full of bickering residents together. In the process, Prue meets Lewis, an eccentric boy from across the street—and the only one who can help her discover the missing elements of her sister’s story.

What I loved:

I absolutely love a good middle-grade novel that covers the topic of grief in a way that doesn’t feel patronizing or downplaying it for the audience. Some kids unfortunately have to deal with big events that come with big emotions, and Once for Yes is one of those books that understands that, and reaches out a hand to them.

Prue is such a wonderful and authentic character, that drew me into the story from page one. Her grief over her sister and her attempts to keep the physical space of her home the exact same to honor her memory were portrayed so incredibly well. I deeply felt for this girl, who is confronted with having to leave behind the house that holds so many tangible memories, when she doubts whether she’s even ready move her sister’s things around the room they used to share. It’s through the small moments that her grief speaks the loudest and it makes the experience so deeply relatable to both kids and adults alike. We are shown that the Odenburg didn’t just hold sad or bittersweet memories for the family either. Seeing Prue play her “radio-host” games with the landline for example, made for some great moments of levity and joy to balance out the heavier themes.

Lastly, I think adding the voice of the actual Odenburg building as one of the voices in this choir of a cast was a brilliant move. It helped us as the reader connect to this place that felt like a protector and friend to our characters, by literally portraying it as such. Some of the moments where the Odenburg attempts to subtly interfere in the events within itself, by halting an elevator or offering comfort to Prue by answering her questions to her sister with knocks and growns, were my favourites in the story. Bonuspoints for the narrator of the audiobook for providing the perfect (thickly NY-accented) voice to this character in particular.

Then there’s the ending… I think the emotional impact would’ve been great enough if we’d only seen Prue’s side of things, but adding in the perspectives of her neighbours and the Odenburg itself elevated it to a whole new level tear-jerking goodness.

What I didn’t love:

Although I loved almost our full cast of Odenburg-neighbours, Lewis was a bit of an odd-one out. I had a difficult time warming up to his character, and felt his storyline to be dragging a bit. It becomes clear early on that Lewis is hiding the fact that he had a connection to her sister before her death from Prue. To the reader, it’s very obvious what was going on here, but it takes Prue just a little too long to catch on. Once she does learn the truth, I don’t think she’s given enough room to process this, before she’s expected to “forgive and forget” in order for the story to move on. As an adult, this might make sense, but I felt 11-year old Prue needed a little more grace here.

Overall, I’m overjoyed to have discovered this book and add it to my ever-expanding library of grief-recommendations for readers of all ages.

Thanks to Feiwel & Friends and RB-media for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

You can find this book here on Goodreads.