Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss. ( )

A sweet, thoughtful picture book about a little girl who's best friend moves away.

WIth realistic emotion, Life Without Nico, follows the course of time in young Maia's life when her friend Nico moves away. Maia is left alone, or so she feels, and stuggles to make a new friend. But eventually, she does and when Nico returns, her life has changed. How will Nico fit into her new routine?

The subtle illustrations are warm and heartfelt with a twist, Nico is blue. And although I didn't quite work out the significance, I did find the illustrations well-suited for the text and appealing overall.

With a unique take on how a child copes with both the loss and reintroduction of a good friend, Life Without Nico is a wonderful story of friendship, loss, dealing with emotions and life's constant changes.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy via Goodreads. ( )

I really enjoyed this book because it shows the importance of friendship and how things can't always stay the same even if you hope they do. Maia and Nico are best friends and do everything together until the day Nico is told he is moving. This story is the perspective of Maia and how she is able to cope with a long distance best friend. I love this book because it is a kindhearted story that shows the love that can be so far away. Teaches children that leaving their best friend can be a good because it allows them to grow even more room in their heart. ( )

This book is about allowing new things into your life and understanding that not everything or everyone stays in it forever at all times. Maia and Nico are best friends but Nico has to move because of his fathers studies. Maia doesn't know what to do and she feels like there's a hole in her heart. She feels like this emptiness follows her everywhere and I'm sure so has many other people. It makes Maia feel antisocial and alone. One day she gets a kitten and that seems to be the turning point for her and I think that's what pushes her to be more social. Having one friend is hard because there will be situations your can't control and maybe you won't be able to see that friend again or for a long time. As time goes on she learns more about herself and discovers she likes the piano. When Nico comes back she can't wait to tell him everything but she feels like her heart doesn't have anymore room. When she does see him, it's like no time had passed and it was easy to communicate. This shows her she can open her heart as wide as she wants. I'd read this book to a class of first graders. ( )

When Nico's family moves away for his father to study, his best friend Maia is devastated. They had done everything together and now all she feels is emptiness. The emptiness gets bigger and bigger as her sadness grows. The emptiness gets in the way of everything until one day she finds .....
Maia realizes that she can have fun and make friends while Nico is gone, but will things change when he gets home?

This is a short, simple book with a great message that it is normal to feel loss, empiness, and sadness when someone we love is gone, but eventually we need to move on. Those feeling are always there even if they return. The pictures in this book were very simple but the message was clear and the illustrations supported that.

This is a great story for children suffering these emotions and situations which will happen often throughout their lives.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )