She deals with it better than her parents do, but she fights with her parents for not understanding that she needs to talk about Mick. In one scene she tells off her school principal for calling Mick's death a 'loss' when in reality, Mick is gone. Phoebe feels guilt over her brother's death and becomes more cynical about people around her. The book illustrates how Phoebe and her parents deal with Mick's death. Even at the times of Phoebe's grief, she would still tell stories about him that made me laugh. Another story is of how Mick had a cigar that said 'It's a girl!' on it, but he thought it meant the cigar was a girl and named it Helen. I laughed when I saw how Mick goes crazy over flies and whacks at them with his flip flops, even if it means accidentally hitting the neighbor. And with each of these stories, there's humor. Or there's one about his love for his pet dog, Wocket. Like when he gets cremated, Phoebe shares the story of how he decided to be cremated. He's a fun guy that you just want to get to know, and you feel Phoebe's grief when you realize he's gone.įor every situation, there's a story about Mick. Like how on Halloween he dressed up as Thomas Crapper, or another year he dressed up as Henry VIII and superglued a beard to his face. You get a sense of Mick's sense of humor and the things he did. The stories she includes in between are pricless, like of how she and Mick scratched the letters F-A-R-T into the driveway next to their house. Phoebe's straightforward tone dominates the narration as she discusses the events of his death and what happened after. I've read it multiple times ever since, and every time I read it, it still has that same effect on me it had when I first read it. I thought: I first read this in 6th grade and was immediately touched. Throughout the book she weaves anecdotes and current events together, telling stories of her endearing brother Mick while also sharing of how she, her family and friends deal with his death.

I just thought that would be fair.'Ī short novella about Phoebe Harte, whose brother Mick died in a bike accident.

But I thought you should know right up front that he's not here anymore. It's about: 'I don't want to make you cry.

Mick harte was here by barbara park