This wonderful book stars Fern, a twelve year old who feels invisible among her family members and in school. Charlie, her three year old brother gets all the attention. Her super annoying older sister is bossy. Her dad is always embarrassing the family. Her mom is head over heels about Charlie. And Holden, her fourteen year old brother who is the only one who understands her. A few days after the very humiliating commercial (a way to spread the word to come to Harry's) Fern was outside doing her homework but then her so-called annoying brother came and pestered her to come and play with him. She told him no and then he called her the Big Bad Wolf and ran away. As he ran away from her a car almost hit him but he fell down. He lay there, still, then as if nothing happened he got right up! But the following morning Charlie still lay in bed, which was unusual because he is usually the first to wake. Fern didn't think much about it and went downstairs, but then heard her mom whisper words and then her older brother Holden quickly called 911 and there was sobbing. It all happened so fast but no one could save her younger brother Charlie. Why? Why him? I love this book a lot but it had sad parts too. I will also admit that I cried in some parts though. But overall I give this book a 4/5 stars just because of Holden and what he is, you'll understand if you read the book, but still, great book!
See You at Harry's
By Jo Knowles
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 6 - 8 | Grades 2 - 8 | Y | 3.6 | 53460 |
Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. Her dad is always busy planning how to increase traffic to the family business. Her Mom is constantly going off to meditate. Her sister Sarah, who's taking a "gap year" after high school, is too busy finding ways not to work; and her brother Holden is too focused on his new "friend" to pay attention to her. And then there's Charlie: three years old, a "surprise" baby, and the center of everyone's world.
If it wasn't for Ran, Fern's best and oldest friend, there would be nowhere to turn. Ran is always calm, always positive. His mantra "All will be well" is soothing in a way that nothing else seems to be. And when Ran says it, Fern can almost believe.
But when their lives are unexpectedly turned upside down, Fern feels more alone than ever, and responsible for the event that wrenches the family apart. All will not be well. Or at least, all will never be the same.
Book Reviews (11)
This sounds interesting.
Fern's family annoying. She has a three-year-old brother that always takes everyone's attention, her father has forever ruined her reputation from embarrassing attempts to spread their business name, and her older sister is sassy and doesn't understand anything. She only loves her brother Holden. Charlie (the younger brother) is the star of a badly-written commercial. Everyone loves him. One day, while Fern is doing her homework (but she is supposed to be watching Charlie), Charlie wants to play! When she refuses and tells him to leave her alone, he calls her the Big Bad Wolf and runs across the street, laughing. (This happens pretty early in the book but it's important so if you don't want ANY spoilers, stop reading) He almost gets hit by a car, but the car stops just in time! He only falls lightly to the ground. Everyone swarms around Charlie and glares at Fern. The next day, Fern gets ready for school. When her mom goes to wake Charlie, Fern hears wailing. Fern's mom found Charlie dead in his bed. He died from a brain clot, from the fall, in his sleep. The is a heartbreaking tale about a girl who has to learn how much she loved someone-after the person has died. I cried when she went to the lake and she started screaming "Why? Why did you take him away? He was just a little boy!" The next day I went upstairs and told my five year old brother that I loved him lots and lots and lots. This book changed me for the better by reading the worst. --BKS reviews
Very good!!!
I loved this book! It is one of my childhood favorites, due to the beauty of this book. The pure emotion in the characters is so realistic and well planned out. I would recommend this book for anybody who is interested in a very emotional book.
I really enjoyed this book because things definitely got worse before they got better. Between Ferns brother Holden being beat up from the get go to the death of ferns little brother, Charlie, the author couldn't have thrown anything more at Fern to overcome. It was overall very well written because of the detail of actions and exciting plot.
I recently just finished the book See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles. The book starts off with Fern being annoyed with her dad's crazy ideas and little brother, Charlie, always nagging her. Until, one day Charlie hit his head too hard and died from something in his brain being damaged. Fern and her family were devastated and it took them a while to finally get back into reality after Charlie's death. I think the book was fantastic and I really enjoyed the unexpected turns the book took because it left me in the edge of my chair. Although, I would have included more about how Charlie died because it seemed unclear to me. The book is considered realistic fiction because Charlie's death and Fern's relationship with her family could very well happen, but the story was not based on a real family. Someone that would enjoy this book is someone who likes emotional books and sad stories because it leaves you in tears over Charlie's death. The book is emotional because Holden faces internal conflict when he is scared to admit his sexuality to his family and what they will think about it. Another external conflict is when Holden gets bullied for being gay and he has to stand up against society for himself. Overall, See You at Harry's is a great book that is now my new favorite.
This is a great book mixed with tragedy and sadness
This book is my favorite book so far, i recommend this book because if you like sad and tragic books, this book it perfect for you.
This book is really sad. I'm not kidding. But it's also a really good book(you could say yummy). Just to warn you, it all seems all right until her brother gets hit by the car. The middle of the book is a funeral. The emotion that I felt the most was sadness. But it was still a really good book!