The Great Blue Yonder - Softcover

Shearer, Alex

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0439561272 ISBN 13: 9780439561273

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2004

Synopsis

People seem to think it's an easy life when you're dead. But you can take it from Harry, it's no such thing.

After finding himself dead from a bike accident, Harry emerges on the Other Side, a strange land where the sun is always setting but never quite disappears, and dead people wander about, waiting to move on to the Great Blue Yonder. Harry's not sure exactly what the Great Blue Yonder is, but he doesn't want to go there until he's found some way to let his sister know that he's sorry for the mean things he said to her just before the accident. To do that, he'll have to return to Earth as a ghost--and face what life there is like without him.

About this title

About the Author:

Alex Shearer has written more than a dozen books for both adults and children, as well as many successful television series, films, and stage and radio plays in the United Kingdom. His chapter books include Professor Sniff and the Lost Spring Breezes and The Summer Sisters and the Dance Disaster (both Orchard). He lives in Somerset, England.

From School Library Journal:

Grades 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
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0439561272
• ISBN 13: 9780439561273
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192