LB: I really love the familial relationships in the book. It was the most painful thing I’ve ever written, and also the most cathartic.Īs for punishment: Make me buy stock in Kleenex? But it turned out to be the one I had to. While I had no trouble moving the story away from our literal truth, I couldn’t steer it away from our emotional one: loss. Well I guess you know that didn’t happen. I’m going to incorporate a bunch of funny stories from our childhood, and then I’m going to reinvent the past and give us a happy ending. I thought, This is going to be a tribute to my brother. You know, I set out to write a humorous novel about growing up in the restaurant business, per request by your husband/my agent. JK: I do not like to make you sad! I promise!!! Why do you like to make us sad? Why? And what do you think your punishment should be for this? There was a small snot-rag mountain by my bed. I mean, seriously-I went through a lot of tissues, Jo. LB: This book should come with a warning about the tear-shedding quotient. Those comments will NOT be chosen by the Loving Claw of Possible Book Winning.

Please do not leave me irritated comments about the crappy formatting. Also, I am the least tech savvy person on the planet. It has taken me 1 1/2 hours to try to format this %*&* thing. (* Note: Sorry for the formatting issues. I sat down with Jo to talk about her new novel, her writing process, censorship, and compulsive hair touching. Think of it like the claw game in Toy Story. Winners will be selected by random number generator. ” Word, Kirkus Reviews, word. You can also enter to win a free copy of SEE YOU AT HARRY’S simply by leaving a comment in the comments section.

In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews called it, “pitch-perfect…Prescient writing, fully developed characters and completely, tragically believable situations elevate this sad, gripping tale to a must-read level. Jo’s new book, SEE YOU AT HARRY’S, comes out today.

In case you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of hers, and not just because she makes a mean chocolate chip scone. She’s also been writing beautiful, quietly powerful books, which are testaments to humanity in all its flawed, impossible, hopeful glory. In her career, Jo has faced down book banners and fought for intellectual freedom. (She’d get that hat back without ever throwing a punch.) Then later, she’d bust out a poem in English class that had everybody going, “Whoa.” If life were a teen movie, Jo Knowles would be the kind, smart, somewhat shy girl in the back row who offers the new kid half of her sandwich at lunch, then stands up to the bullies who try to take his hat.

Jumping off swings by jo knowles