Susin Nielsen
The Reluctant Journal Of Henry K. Larsen
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Thirteen-year-old Henry’s happy, ordinary life comes to an abrupt halt when his older brother, Jesse, picks up their father’s hunting rifle and leaves the house one morning. What follows shatters Henry’s family, who are forced to resume their lives in a new city, where no one knows their past. When Henry’s therapist suggests he keep a journal, at first he is resistant. But soon he confides in it at all hours of the day and night.
In spite of Henry’s desire to “fly under the radar,” he eventually befriends a number of oddball characters, both at school and in his modest apartment building. And even though they know nothing about his past – at least, not yet – they help him navigate the waters of life after “IT.”
Susin Nielsen has created a fantastic new character in Henry, whose journal entries are infused with humor and provide a riveting read about a family in turmoil.
Awards/Honours
Winner of the 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award, Children’s Text
Winner of the 2017 UKLA Award, 12-16 category
Winner, OLA’S Forest of Reading 2014 Red Maple Award
Winner of the 2013 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, Best YA Bookhildren’s Text
Winner of the 2013 Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year
Winner of the Michigan Library Association’s 2013 “Thumbs Up” Award
Winner, 2013 Saskatchewan Snow Willow Award
2016 OLA Golden Oak Nominee
Nominated for the 2013 TD Children’s Literature Award
2013 Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award nominee for Best Children’s Book
2013 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award Nominee
2013 BC Book Prizes nominee, Sheila Eghoff award
Inspiration Behind The Reluctant Journal Of Henry K. Larsen
I was reading a book by Wally Lamb called “The Hour I First Believed.” One of his characters was present at a horrific school massacre. There was a line in the book that mentioned that one of the shooters had an older brother. That just punched me in the gut; I realized I had never thought about what it would be like for the surviving sibling of someone who committed a horrific crime. From there, Jesse and Henry were born. Jesse, relentlessly bullied to the point of murder/suicide; Henry, the brother left behind.