Waiting on Wednesday: See You At Harry's by Jo Knowles

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine and is meant to showcase upcoming books that you can't wait to read.

My anxiously awaited title this week is:

See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles
Expected Publication Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Candlewick
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Middle Grade/Young Adult

From Goodreads:

Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. Her dad is always busy planning how to increase traffic to the family business. Her Mom is constantly going off to meditate. Her sister Sarah, who's taking a "gap year" after high school, is too busy finding ways not to work; and her brother Holden is too focused on his new "friend" to pay attention to her. And then there's Charlie: three years old, a "surprise" baby, and the center of everyone's world.

If it wasn't for Ran, Fern's best and oldest friend, there would be nowhere to turn. Ran is always calm, always positive. His 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.

But when their lives are unexpectedly turned upside down, Fern feels more alone than ever, and responsible for the event that wrenches the family apart. All will not be well. Or at least, all will never be the same.

Many of the teachers I admire and follow on Twitter who have had the privilege of reading this book already are all a-twitter about it. It's one of those books I probably would have passed by had it not been for the buzz surrounding it. It's one of those books you want to read for the sake of the reading community it garners. Just like The Fault in Our Stars, Wonder, and The One and Only Ivan, See You at Harry's is a book that is going to generate a lot of discussion with teachers and librarians once it comes out in May.