A review by beths0103
See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles

4.0

See You at Harry's is my first experience reading a Jo Knowles book but it will certainly not be my last. This book is special. And Fern, despite her resentment toward her family at feeling like a neglected child, does not come off as unlikeable in the least bit. She's a character you immediately empathize with and wish you could wrap your arms around to make up for all the affection she's missed out on from her self-centered mother and oblivious father. We get a sense of Fern's resentment at being the neglected child from the very first page when she declares that the best day of her life was the day she "threw up four times and had a fever of 103 degrees." Why was that such a special day for her? Well, it was because her mother actually spent time with her and doted on her. Until that moment and every moment after, she has felt ignored and unloved.

This is a book that you will struggle with because it deals with a family that is slowly falling apart. It contains a great deal of sadness within its 300+ pages, but have faith in Fern. She makes it worth your while to keep turning the page to the very end.

I recently finished this book in a weekend. With my frantic schedule as the school year is quickly winding down, I haven't had time to sit down and devour a book in this way in quite a few weeks (maybe even months). But that speaks to what kind of book this is. It's one that, as Kate Messner said, "will break your heart and put it back together again."