Review by New York Times Review
ADOLESCENCE is - for almost everyone, at least some of the time - excruciating. (Those few for whom this is not so, beware: there can be few things more dismaying than to find that adolescence was your zenith.) Acutely aware of the challenges teenagers must face, Jo Knowles has, in the past six years, written several acclaimed young adult novels tackling some of the more grueling hurdles, including teenage pregnancy and abuse. Her new book, "See You at Harry's," offers, on the one hand, a deft and delicate handling of commonplace traumas - how to negotiate bullying on the school bus, what it means for everyone in a family when a teenager comes to terms with his sexuality - and, on the other, the enormous and mercifully rare drama of a child's accidental death. And while the distinction between these narrative elements - their disparate weights - may seem to an adult huge, Knowles is aware that a child's perspective is somewhat different. Engagingly narrated by Fern, the frustrated third child in a family with four, "See You at Harry's" is set over the late summer and fall of her 12th year, when she enters middle school. Fern's parents run a restaurant and ice cream parlor called Harry's, for which her distracted father is constantly trying new and embarrassing marketing ploys. Her mother retreats to the restaurant office to meditate; her sister, Sara, taking a year off before college, spends her time necking with the busboy ; while her older brother, Holden, learns to ignore the bullies and find happiness with his first boyfriend, Gray - an unnervingly older fellow with his own car who attends the local private school. In all this, Fern finds calm in the company of her good friend Ran, a boy who has been through a lot and knows how to keep calm. His mantra, "All will be well," seems like the voice of wisdom - until it doesn't. At the center of the family's attention is little Charlie, the youngest and an afterthought, just 3 years old. Charming, demanding, exasperating, Charlie is the restaurant's mascot and everyone's delight; but he is also a constant burden that all of them shunt off as best they can. Any experienced reader will see at once the mark of doom indelibly imprinted upon Charlie's brow; presumably this fact is less glaring to the younger set And it is unfortunately on Fern's watch that Charlie suffers the accident that, after a deceptive hiatus, will fell him. IF the book's first half winningly sets up the foibles and eccentricities of a cheerfully dysfunctional family, its second must chart the consequences of significant random tragedy. For me, this proved a problematic shift in scale; interestingly, for my 10-year-old daughter, much less so. In a novel that scrupulously eschews tidiness (it is important, for example, that Holden's happiness over his boyfriend Gray is tempered by his family's doubts about Gray's age, wealth and superficiality), I found myself discombobulated by the smooth trajectory from Fern's guilt, confusion and grief over Charlie's death to the book's exuberant conclusion at the school's homecoming dance, complete with Fern's first kiss. While Knowles is careful not to imply that Fern's, or her family's, troubles are over, she nevertheless allows the children a sparkling, madcap evening of fun that seems more a narrative necessity (a dose of hope!) than a plausible eventuality. On the other hand, my 10-year-old, who devoured the novel, rued that the "sad parts" were prolonged. Once informed of Fern's guilt and grief, she felt she'd got it, and was ready for the plot to move on. The novel's concluding chapters were her favorites. What seemed to me predictable or schematic proved, for her, thoroughly narratively satisfying. And let it be said that my daughter reads far more books of this ilk than do I; indeed, she represents their target audience. Her considerable pleasure in reading "See You at Harry's" is what counts. Fern's older brother and sister are busy exploring sex and romance, while her little brother runs wild. Claire Messud is the author, most recently, of "The Emperor's Children." Her new novel, "The Woman Upstairs," will be out next year.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 17, 2012]
Review by Booklist Review
To 12-year-old Fern, her family has become little more than a random group of people who occasionally eat dinner together. Her dad is obsessed with the family restaurant, Harry's; her mom is constantly meditating; her older siblings have their own busy lives; and three-year-old Charlie is the center of everyone's world. And then . . . tragedy. In a flash the book changes course, and readers will be reaching for their hankies. The family implodes, and it takes many heart-wrenching pages before they are able to find their way back to one another. Readers may begin this book thinking that Fern's annoying family will be the backdrop for her adventures with boys and friends, but it is just the reverse. As in John Corey Whaley's award-winning Where Things Come Back (2011), the powerful bonds of family, so casually acknowledged in the everyday, can be crippling when broken. This is highly recommended for readers dealing with their own grief issues, but any teen can benefit from the reminder that family can be simultaneously humiliating and invaluable.--Colson, Diane Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Twelve-year-old Fern's family members are so consumed with their own lives that Fern often feels overlooked. She has a lot on her plate, dealing with her annoying three-year-old brother, Charlie, and tart-tongued sister, Sara, as well as being publically embarrassed by her father's overzealous marketing for their family restaurant, Harry's. Additionally, Fern's mother often disappears to meditate, while older brother Holden-who is being bullied at school and is struggling over whether to come out as gay-pushes Fern away. Things become nearly unbearable when Fern blames herself for a tragic accident that rocks the family to its core. Luckily, Fern's closest friend, the perpetually serene Ran, and, indeed, her family help her find a glimmer of hope amid powerful grief. Through the eyes of Fern, Knowles (Lessons from a Dead Girl) introduces a cast of distinct, fully developed characters who exhibit authentic emotions, foibles, and expressions of love. Readers will feel deeply for the family in the aftermath of the plot's heart-wrenching turn, which pulls them closer together. Ages 12-up. Agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
It's hard enough being the third child of four, especially when your petulant older sister is looking for romance, your older brother is trying to figure out his sexual orientation, everyone thinks your little brother is so adorable, and your parents seem oblivious to everything that's happening in the family. When the unthinkable happens and your family really falls apart, you're sure it's all your fault. Kate Rudd mines every heartbreaking, deeply nuanced emotion with subtle vocal interpretations and pacing guaranteed to leave listeners mourning for what has been lost. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Twelve-year-old Fern wonders "if all families are as frustrating to live with as mine." Her father, the owner of Harrys Family Restaurant, is filming an embarrassing commercial starring Fern and her siblings, and her mother has no time for her. Her gay brother is being bullied; her older sister is "lonely and grumpy and not fun to be around." And her three-year-old brother, Charlie, is a sticky, attention-seeking pain. When things get bad, Fern counts on her best friend, Random, to remind her that "all will be well." But halfway through the novel Charlie dies after a freak accident, and Fern knows that "nothing will ever be right again." Readers feel the familys grief, and Charlies absence, acutely: Fern repeatedly replays Charlies outgoing message on their answering machine, and reads a favorite book aloud to his empty room. And then theres the painful immediacy of Charlies funeral: "I dont know if I can keep myself from screaming, I hurt so much." Despite her grief, however, Fern agrees to attend the homecoming dance and actually enjoys herself (partially because of the possibility of romance with Random). Its a sign that all can be...if not well, then maybe okay. This is a powerful, spare portrait of a flawed but loving family that experiences the unthinkable -- and survives. rachel l. smith (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Sit back in a comfortable chair, bring on the Kleenex and cry your heart out. Seventh grader Fern, in pitch-perfect present tense, relates the dual tragedies of her family. Her high-schoolfreshman older brother Holden has come to the place in his life where he's acknowledged that he's gay and is taking the first painful, unsteady steps out into a less-than-fully-accepting world. Fern offers him support and love, but what she can give is not always what he needs. Their older sister, Sara, spending a frustrating gap year after high school supposedly helping with the family restaurant, makes life hard for everyone with her critical eye and often unkind comments. And then there's 3-year-old Charlie, always messy, often annoying, but deeply loved. Fern's busy, distracted parents leave all of the kids wanting for more attention--until a tragic accident tears the family apart. The pain they experience after the calamity is vividly, agonizingly portrayed and never maudlin. Eventually there are tiny hints of brightness to relieve the gloom: the wisdom of Fern's friend Ran, the ways that Sara, Fern and Holden find to support each other and their thoughtfully depicted, ever-so-gradual healing as they rediscover the strength of family. Prescient writing, fully developed characters and completely, tragically believable situations elevate this sad, gripping tale to a must-read level. (Fiction. 11 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
