"You'll be sorry when I'm dead." That's what Harry said to his sister right before he went off on his bike and got hit by a truck. And now he's just that--dead--and he's gone to the Other Side. Harry's not quite sure how he fits in there, where the sun is always setting but never quite disappears and people wander about seemingly without direction, waiting to move on to the Great Blue Yonder. Moreover, he wishes he could take backwhat he said to his sister, or at least tell her he's sorry. And he wouldn't mind being able to say good-bye to everyone else he left behind. Then he finds a way to go back, and though what he discovers is not quite what he expected, he is given the chance to make peace with his sister, and more important, with himself. This moving, often funny, book about grief, death, and loss will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.
Harry, a boy who has died, tries to describe what it is like on the "other side," a place known as the Other Lands.
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School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-"People seem to think it's an easy life when you're dead." With that attention-grabbing first line, this unusual and compelling novel tells the story of Harry, killed in a bicycle accident. Initially confused by his new existence in the Other Side, the flippant 12-year-old realizes he cannot move toward the peace of the Great Blue Yonder until he has addressed the unfinished business in his life. On the day of the accident, he and his sister had a fight in which he told her she'd be sorry when he was dead. Knowing she must be feeling tremendous pain over their parting words, he resolves to make amends. With the help of a Victorian-era lad named Arthur, he goes back home as a ghost. He sees many things he didn't expect and gains an understanding of his actions when he was alive. His death has had a devastating impact on his family, fulfilling every kid's fantasy of his family being sorry when he's gone. By now, however, Harry has grown up enough to be upset by the depth of his family's sorrow. He is able to communicate with his sister, gaining closure for her and a newfound maturity for himself. The book ends with Harry asking readers to wish him well as he heads toward the Great Blue Yonder. Sound strange? It is. It is also amusing, poignant, and deeply moving. A great main character and unusual topical matter combine to make a unique winner of a book that will leave readers laughing through their tears.-B. Allison Gray, South Country Library, Bellport, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
After being hit by a truck, Harry arrives at the Other Lands, a place of perpetual sunsets filled with dead souls waiting to make their next transition to the Great Blue Yonder. Returning to Earth one last time, Harry observes his grieving family and forgives his sister for their final argument. The intriguing premise offers both humor and genuinely moving moments, though the first-person narrative is wordy. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Book Review
What's it like when you're dead? Do you go to Heaven or Hell? Do you become a ghost? Eleven-year old Harry learns the answers to these elemental questions when he's killed by a truck and finds himself wandering in the Other Lands with his new friend Arthur. The Other Lands are a pleasant place, with trees, fields, and a constantly setting sun, but Harry wonders what those signs pointing to the Great Blue Yonder might be. Arthur has a story of his own. He's been wandering the Other Lands for 150 years, searching for his mother. Eventually, Arthur leads Harry back down to Earth for "some haunting," and Harry visits his old school and his family. There, Harry finds a way to resolve the issue that's been holding him back from the Great Blue Yonder: his last argument with his sister just before he died. It's a novel, intriguing idea for a children's story, and Shearer (The Summer Sisters and the Dance Disaster, 1998, etc.) grounds his narrative in Harry's experiences without much reference to religious concepts. He focuses on major issues for children, such as what their friends think of them and the underlying love that exists even between battling siblings. Much of the narrative is repetitious, but young readers will likely find the whole concept, and Harry's adventures, fascinating. (Fiction. 10-14)
TextPublication details: New York : Clarion Books, 2001.Description: 184 p. ; 22 cmISBN: