See You at Harry's

See You at Harry's
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2012-05-08
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763659940

Starting middle school brings all the usual challenges — until the unthinkable happens, and Fern and her family must find a way to heal. Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. It seems as though everyone in her family has better things to do than pay attention to her: Mom (when she’s not meditating) helps Dad run the family restaurant; Sarah is taking a gap year after high school; and Holden pretends that Mom and Dad and everyone else doesn’t know he’s gay, even as he fends off bullies at school. Then there’s Charlie: three years old, a “surprise” baby, the center of everyone’s world. He’s devoted to Fern, but he’s annoying, too, always getting his way, always dirty, always commanding attention. If it wasn’t for Ran, Fern’s calm and positive best friend, there’d be nowhere to turn. Ran’s 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 it’s true. But then tragedy strikes- and Fern feels not only more alone than ever, but also responsible for the accident that has wrenched her family apart. All will not be well. Or at least all will never be the same.

Where the Heart Is

Where the Heart Is
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2019-04-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1536200034

If home is where the heart is, what would happen if you lost it? Compassion and humor infuse the story of a family caught in financial crisis and a girl struggling to form her own identity. It’s the first day of summer and Rachel's thirteenth birthday. She can't wait to head to the lake with her best friend, Micah. But as summer unfolds, every day seems to get more complicated. Her “fun” new job taking care of the neighbors’ farm animals quickly becomes a challenge, whether she’s being pecked by chickens or having to dodge a charging pig at feeding time. At home, her parents are more worried about money than usual, and their arguments over bills intensify. Fortunately, Rachel can count on Micah to help her cope with all the stress. But Micah seems to want their relationship to go beyond friendship, and though Rachel almost wishes for that, too, she can’t force herself to feel “that way” about him. In fact, she isn’t sure she can feel that way about any boy — or what that means. With all the heart of her award-winning novel See You At Harry's, Jo Knowles brings us the story of a girl who must discover where her heart is and what that means for her future.

Jumping Off Swings

Jumping Off Swings
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2010-03-16
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0763651729

One pregnancy. Four friends. It all adds up to a profound time of change in this poignant, sensitively written YA novel. (Age 14 and up) Ellie remembers how the boys kissed her. Touched her. How they begged for more. And when she gave it to them, she felt loved. For a while anyway. So when Josh, an eager virgin with a troubled home life, leads her from a party to the backseat of his van, Ellie follows. But their "one-time thing" is far from perfect: Ellie gets pregnant. Josh reacts with shame and heartbreak, while their confidantes, Caleb and Corinne, deal with their own complex swirl of emotions. No matter what Ellie chooses, all four teenagers will be forced to grow up a little faster as a result. Told alternately from each character’s point of view, this deeply insightful novel explores the aftershocks of the biggest decision of one fragile girl’s life -- and the realities of leaving innocence behind.

Still a Work in Progress

Still a Work in Progress
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2016-08-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763688592

In a return to middle-grade fiction, master of perspectives Jo Knowles depicts a younger sibling struggling to maintain his everyday life when his older sister is in crisis. Noah is just trying to make it through seventh grade. The girls are confusing, the homework is boring, and even his friends are starting to bug him. Not to mention that his older sister, Emma, has been acting pretty strange, even though Noah thought she’d been doing better ever since the Thing They Don’t Talk About. The only place he really feels at peace is in art class, with a block of clay in his hands. As it becomes clear through Emma’s ever-stricter food rules and regulations that she’s not really doing better at all, the normal seventh-grade year Noah was hoping for begins to seem pretty unattainable. In an affecting and realistic novel with bright spots of humor, Jo Knowles captures the complexities of navigating middle school while feeling helpless in the face of a family crisis.

Living with Jackie Chan

Living with Jackie Chan
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2013-09-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0763667161

After fathering a baby, a teenager moves in with his karate-loving uncle and tries to come to terms with his guilt — and find a way to forgive. This isn’t how Josh expected to spend senior year. He thought he’d be hanging out with his best friends, Dave and Caleb, driving around, partying, just like always. But here he is, miles from home — new school, new life, living with his Jackie-Chan-obsessed uncle, Larry, and trying to forget. But Josh can’t forget. So many things bring back memories of last year and the night that changed everything. Every day the pain, the shame, and the just not knowing are never far from his thoughts. Why is he such a loser? How could he have done what he did? He finds some moments of peace when he practices karate with Stella, the girl upstairs and his one real friend. As they move together through the katas, Josh feels connected in a way he has never felt before. He wonders if they could be more than friends, but Stella’s jealous boyfriend will make sure that doesn’t happen. And maybe it doesn’t matter. If Stella knew the truth, would she still think he was a True Karate Man? Readers first met Josh in Jumping Off Swings which told the story of four high school students and how one pregnancy changed all of their lives. In thiscompanion book, they follow Josh as he tries to come to terms with what happened, and find a way to forgive.

Lessons from a Dead Girl

Lessons from a Dead Girl
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2012-06-26
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0763660027

An unflinching story of a troubled friendship -- and one girl’s struggle to come to terms with secrets and shame and find her own power to heal (age 14 and up). Leah Greene is dead. For Laine, knowing what really happened and the awful feeling that she is, in some way, responsible set her on a journey of painful self-discovery. Yes, she wished for this. She hated Leah that much. Hated her for all the times in the closet, when Leah made her do those things. They were just practicing, Leah said. But why did Leah choose her? Was she special, or just easy to control? And why didn’t Laine make it stop sooner? In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laine is left to explore the devastating lessons Leah taught her, find some meaning in them, and decide whether she can forgive Leah and, ultimately, herself.

Ear Worm!

Ear Worm!
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 33
Release: 2022-01-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1536207837

Little Worm finds a song stuck in his head--and learns that his friends all have songs of their own to listen to.

The Horse in Harry's Room

The Horse in Harry's Room
Author: Syd Hoff
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 36
Release: 1985-05-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0064440737

Harry keeps a horse in his room. A trusty horse only he can see. But then his parents take him to the country to see "real" horses. Horses that are free to run, kick, and nibble. Now Harry must decide: Does his horse need to be free, too?

Pearl

Pearl
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2011-07-19
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1429975059

Bean (née Pearl) and Henry, misfits and best friends, have the strangest mothers in town. Henry's mom Sally never leaves the house. Bean's mom Lexie, if she is home, is likely nursing a hangover or venting to her friend Claire about Bean's beloved grandfather Gus, the third member of their sunny household. Gus's death unleashes a host of family secrets that brings them all together. And they threaten to change everything—including Bean's relationship with Henry, her first friend, and who also might turn out to be her first love.