The Great Blue Yonder

by Alex Shearer

Overview

The Great Blue Yonder by Alex Shearer is the quirky, gentle journey of a boy stuck between looking back, and moving on.

'You'll be sorry when I'm dead.'

That's what Harry said to his sister, before the incident with the lorry. And now he is just that – dead.

And he wishes more than anything that he hadn't said it. He wishes he could say sorry. And say goodbye to everyone he left behind – his mum, his dad, his best friend Pete. . . even Jelly Donkins, the class bully.

Now he's on the Other Side, waiting to move on to the Great Blue Yonder. But he doesn't know how to get there – until he meets Arthur, a small boy in a top hat who's been dead for years, who helps him say goodbye. . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529029772
Publisher:	Pan Macmillan
Publication date:	07/23/2020
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.76(h) x (d)
Age Range:	9 - 18 Years

About the Author

Alex Shearer lives with his family in Somerset. He 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. He has had over thirty different jobs, and has never given up trying to play the guitar.

Editorial Reviews

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 Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

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)

Kirkus Reviews

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.
School Library Journal, Starred

From the Publisher