Fern's parents named her after the character in Charlotte's Web When she was 8-years old, she caught a virus from Random Smith, a boy no one wanted to be friends with.
"From the moment you were born, I could tell you had a special soul. I knew you'd be a good friend. A hero."
I looked at my chest and tried to feel my soul buried in there, deep in my heart.
"It's true," my mom said. "Not everyone would share a sandwich with Random Smith."
I smiled, feeling my soul stir a little.
My mom took my hand and kissed it. "I'm proud of you, honey," she said. "I know you're miserable now, but you made a little boy feel like he matters. And I hope you think it was worth it."
Twelve-year old Fern has two brothers and one sister; Fern is the second youngest. Charlie is three years old and totally grosses Fern and her other siblings out. He picks his nose, he carries around a plastic baby doll, or making Fern do something totally embarrassing. He's the center of the universe for her parents.
Fern's parents own a restaurant, Harry's, even though her dad's name is George. Her older sister is named Sara from the character in A Little Princess, her brother Holden is named after a character in The Catcher in the Rye, and Charlie was named after the character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Needless to say, her family is a bit quirky.
See You at Harry's looks like a nice, sweet book, but it's a heavy-weight: Holden struggles with telling his parents he's gay, a tragic accident happens to one of the family members, and Fern is forced to confront her guilt.
I really loved this book, but it's not for everyone.
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars
*mild language, grief, homosexuality
This book is not at NOLS...yet!
