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Jo Knowles

Author of See You at Harry's

10+ Works 1,980 Members 158 Reviews 2 Favorited

Works by Jo Knowles

See You at Harry's (2012) 573 copies, 34 reviews
Lessons from a Dead Girl (2007) 398 copies, 29 reviews
Jumping Off Swings (2009) 372 copies, 33 reviews
Read Between the Lines (2015) 150 copies, 15 reviews
Living with Jackie Chan (2013) 128 copies, 4 reviews
Still a Work in Progress (2016) 121 copies, 18 reviews
Where the Heart Is (2019) 105 copies, 15 reviews
Pearl (2011) 87 copies, 7 reviews
Ear Worm! (2022) 37 copies, 3 reviews
Meant to Be (2022) 9 copies

Associated Works

Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories (2011) — Contributor — 335 copies, 18 reviews
Who Done It? (2013) — Contributor — 137 copies, 5 reviews

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Reviews

Book for Primary. A cute worm gets a silly song stuck in his head. He goes on an adventure to find out if anyone knows who got the song stuck in his head. He later finds out after his adventure that it was his dad who got the song stuck in his head.
 
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Brianna.phelps | 2 other reviews | Jan 25, 2024 |
SAAAAAAAAAAD. Who writes a book for kids about a toddler dying? Seriously? Unless a kid or parent specifically asks for a book about dealing with a death, I probably won't be recommending this. It's just too depressing, which is a shame because the writing is clear and lovely. I will happily read another book by Jo Knowles, but I kind of regret reading this one. It put too many morbid thoughts in my head.

I'm not 100% opposed to death in children's fiction, obviously. When I think about [b:Bridge to Terabithia|2839|Bridge to Terabithia|Katherine Paterson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327880087s/2839.jpg|2237401], for example, I see it as a classic that I would recommend to almost any eleven- or twelve-year-old kid. What's the difference between BTT and SYAH? BTT is mostly about friendship and imagination and ends tragically. SYAH is tragic almost the whole way through.

A few more things about this book:

1. Not only was the loss of three-year-old Charlie terrible to read about, but the relationship between the main character, twelve-year-old Fern, and her mother was upsetting, too. While the Charlie issue is handled in a way that hopefully gives young readers closure at the end, the distant mom thing didn't get resolved. Fern's mom isn't abusive or anything, she just doesn't pay much attention to Fern, which really hurts Fern. Why is Fern's mom cold to Fern? We never really know, though the implication is that Fern is just a classic middle child who's always overlooked by everyone. Sad.

2. I really liked the plot about Fern's gay 14-year-old brother Holden. His whole journey with coming out, as witnessed by Fern, felt very authentic and, in the end, triumphant.

3. I might have liked this more if I'd read it instead of listening to the audiobook. The narrator was good, but it's really hard to listen to/read in a mock-sob for twenty chapters.
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LibrarianDest | 33 other reviews | Jan 3, 2024 |
I don't read a lot of older MG, but this one I LOVED as hard as my favorite YAs. The ending was a little forced, but overall I loved reading about Noah and his 2 best friends, their quirky school, and of course Curly.

I don't really read older MG, but when I saw that Jo Knowles had a new book I really wanted to read it no matter what age group it involved. What I learned was, I LOVE reading about MG boys!! If they're all like Noah, Ryan, and Sam, I could read about them non-stop. They're so funny and self-conscious, and just how I would picture boys going through that awkward age range would be.

My Fave Parts: The friendship between the boys. It wasn't 3 Musketeers-- they got on each other's nerves, they fought, they ignored each other.... but when it really came down to it, they had each other's backs. And there were a few moments between Noah and Ryan that warmed my heart because I think they fell out of the typical boy friendship "rules" (you know-- where you can't hug each other, sleep in the same bed at sleepovers, do nice things like buy presents for each other-- and other stupid stuff males do to act like they aren't emotional beings). I also LOVED the school they went to. It was quirky and non-traditional, and I kind of wish I went to a school like that. Also they had a cat at the school!! And it was allowed to just wander and do it's own thing!! Okay, I'm not really a fan of hairless cats, but how could I not love Curly and her outfits that changed everyday?? I spent most of the book terrified that for some reason Curly would have to leave the school... I just loved her so much, I wanted her to stay!!

I thought this book was adorably cute while also being serious when it needed to be. And I would put this up there with my favorite YA Contemporary books. Only thing is.... I felt the ending was kind of forced. I mean there's this big ISSUE that happens, and Noah and his family kind of go through some major breakdowns, and then it seemed like nothing really changed except Noah decided "Okay, I'm done with it". I didn't really care for that especially since his parents (you know, the ones who should be setting the example) were not coping well and NOT fixing it. But other than that bit of glossing over, I really found this unputdownable.

PS-- I totally have my kid saying "Who's to say?" whenever someone asks him about something (it's what Ryan says to his teachers when he doesn't want to answer a question).

OVERALL: LOVED reading Middle Grade from Jo Knowles. I knew if I stuck it out with this author it would pay off. I love this one and [b:Read Between the Lines|22747804|Read Between the Lines|Jo Knowles|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1415065698s/22747804.jpg|42292740]. It's so readable, adorable, cute, funny, but also about some heavier issues. I would recommend this to anyone for pretty much any reason.

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Michelle_PPDB | 17 other reviews | Mar 18, 2023 |
Something NEW and fresh!! I love a book that takes a chance... this book is narrated by 10 different people and it SO works

Nate, Claire, Dewey, Jack, Stephen, Keith, Dylan, Lacy, Grace, and Ms. Lindsay. Ten people, one day. This is the story of ten people who are all connected to Irving High in some way and all want to see themselves as something different and/or wonder if anyone ever sees the real them. It's a normal day in a suburban town, but it's on this most ordinary day that these ten people show us what it's like to walk in their shoes. Heartbreak, bullying, family problems, and high school.... that pretty much sums up this book.


My Thoughts:
This is by far my favorite Jo Knowles book!! She really got it right this time! I've read 2 other books by this author and always felt like something was missing from them. At the same time, something about her writing and the way she draws me in, always makes me want to read more by her. This book made me so happy I stuck it out.

The setting takes place over the same 24-hour period, but you get to see it from 10 different, semi-connected perspectives. I loved the idea of showing how on any given ordinary day, teens are going through tough things. It made me think about what it was like to be in high school and have things happen. Have your heart broken, have your parents split up, have your same shitty social life, and have it just be another day. It's like these things happen, and the world does not stop to acknowledge it like you think it should. The world just keeps on going and you have to too. That's what I took from this.

My favorite characters were Nate, Claire, and Lacy. Nate led the book off by breaking his middle finger (something that proved to be a recurring theme in the book). He lived with his dad, who was an asshole. There's really no other way to put it, the guy was an asshole to the highest degree. I felt so bad for Nate. Claire was in a popular clique, but wondered if there wasn't more to life than talking about the same gossip over and over again. She wondered if anyone ever saw the true her... or if she even knew who her true self was. Lacy was a girl who had body issues. She always lived outside of the popularity bubble, until Grace came and encouraged her to tryout for cheerleading. She was needed on the squad to lift up the smaller girls, and Grace also had a slight ulterior motive: she wanted to date Lacy's hot jock, basketball captain brother.

What I loved about those 3 characters (and several others) was that they wanted to find out who they really were. They all believed there was so much more, just didn't know how to go about finding it.

I loved the way the characters were so different, but all connected in multiple little ways. Some of them were connected by knowing the others, being friends with them, being neighbors, siblings, classmates. Other times they were connected by having similar experiences and feelings about those experiences. They were connected by the places they went, and of course, that single crude gesture.

I have a mild love/hate thing going on with the ending. So many of the characters didn't get a clear ending. So many things hanging in the balance. I liked that in a way, but OMG what happens to these people!?!?!!!! Also, I just wanted it to go on and on. I could have read full-length books about several of these characters.

OVERALL: LOVED!!! I'm so happy I stuck it out with this author because this book hit the nail on the head for me. I loved it and could not put it down. I was thinking about these characters and what it all meant every second that I could not read it. I'm still thinking about what it all means. Highly recommend!

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Michelle_PPDB | 14 other reviews | Mar 18, 2023 |

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