A review by rjdenney
Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park

5.0

5 STARS!!

This is my first 5 star read of 2018! I have a little story for you before I get into my thoughts on this book. Last year I bought this book at a library book sale for 10 cents and from the premise I thought I'd love it. Later in 2017, I took his book off of my shelf and put it in a box I keep for books I'm thinking of not keeping but give myself time to decide. About a few days ago, I pulled his box out from under my bed, dusted it off and opened it up. Mick Harte Was Here was on top of all the other books and it was as if I'd seen it for the first time in that sale, I pulled it out of the box and opened it to the first page and sat down and read that one page. Afterward, I closed the book and told myself, I'm keeping this and put it on my desk to read and I'm so glad I did.

This book is only 89 pages long and I read it in one sitting, which I loved because I'm a huge lover of short reads. But this book kept me tied to it for the couple of hours it took for me to get through it and I cried and cried and cried while reading it. Certain parts of the book really struck me and with my relationship with grief and death, I felt an extra attachment to this story. It's about a 12 year old girl who loses her younger brother to a bike accident and that is all I will say. Go read this yourself, you will not regret it, I REPEAT, you will not regret it. This book made me feel things, made me laugh, and had me yanking tissues out of the side of my reading chair. It was beautiful, raw, and full of heart. I loved this damn book. Now, go read it. - R.