about the book
Twelve-year-old Fern feels like the only one in her family who ever has any time for her is Charlie, her three-year-old “surprise” baby brother.
Seriously. Fern’s mom is always “meditating,” or if not that, then she is helping dad with the family restaurant; her older sister Sarah is taking a year to travel after high school; and her older brother Holden is preoccupied with whether or not to come out of the gay closet to his family, even though everyone already knows.
If not for Charlie, no one would pay attention to Fern—but Charlie can be annoying at times, and he is only a baby after all. If not for Ran, Fern’s best friend, who is always calm and positive, Fern doesn’t know what she would do! Ran always says to her, “All will be well,” when things go bad.
However, when tragedy splits the family apart, not even Ran can comfort Fern—and Fern feels like it’s all her fault.
about the author
Jo Knowles grew up in a drafty old farmhouse in a small New Hampshire town. One of her first memories is sitting on her grandfather’s lap as he read about Richard Scarry’s worm.
Her family ran a restaurant and an ice cream factory, so Jo was a popular kid! Her favorite hang-out was the loft at the restaurant, where she got in trouble for dropping popcorn into customer’s drinks. She met Miss America and John Travolta there. She also wrote her first poems and stories in that loft.
Jo studied English in college and got hooked on children’s lit. She went on to study writing for young adults at Simmons College, where she wrote her first novel for her thesis. She had a chance meeting with Robert Cormier, her favorite author, and when she told him how he had influenced her, he volunteered to read her first novel. The letter he wrote telling her she was talented still hangs in her office.
That first novel was never published, and Jo went through a lot of hard times, bounced checks, and rejection letters before her second novel went to print. She is now a freelance writer, teaching in the MFA program at Southern New Hampshire University and mentoring writing at a women’s prison.
Jo, her husband, their son, and two cats live in Vermont.
Sources:
Author website
Author advice: Anna Staniszewski
Author interview: Inkygirl.com
Book trailer: See You at Harry’s
Also by Jo Knowles:
Living With Jackie Chan. Candlewick. 2013.
Pearl. Henry Holt. 2011.
Jumping Off Swings. Candlewick. 2009.
Lessons from a Dead Girl. Candlewick. 2007.
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