Now You Say Yes

Award-winning author and storyteller Bill Harley returns with an unforgettable middle grade novel about two orphaned siblings on a cross-country journey in search of their place in the world.  
  • ISBN: 9781682632475
  • Publication date: 08/01/2021
  • Page Count: 384
  • Size: 6" x 8"
  • Age Range: 10-14
Clear
  • Price:
  • ISBN: 9781682632475
  • Publication date: 08/01/2021
  • Page Count: 384
  • Size: 6" x 8"
  • Age Range: 10-14
  • Price:
  • ISBN: 9781682633861
  • Age Range: 10-14
  • Price:
  • Age Range: 10-14
  • Price:
  • Age Range: 10-14
  • Price:
  • Age Range: 10-14
Buy from Peachtree

Description

Award-winning author and storyteller Bill Harley returns with an unforgettable middle grade novel about two orphaned siblings on a cross-country journey in search of their place in the world.

“I rooted for outcast-misfit protagonists Mari and Conor every mile and (every single page!) of their intimate and epic, grief-fueled road trip. Bill Harley’s Now You Say Yes reminds us that acts of kindness—big and small—make all the difference.” —Patrick Flores-Scott, award-winning author of Jumped In and American Road Trip

When her mother dies, fifteen-year-old Mari and is desperate to avoid being caught up in the foster system. Again. And to complicate matters, she is now the only one who can take care of her super-smart and on-the-spectrum nine-year-old stepbrother, Conor.

Is there anyone Mari can trust to help them? Certainly not her mother’s current boyfriend, Dennis. Not the doctors or her teachers, who would be obliged to call in social services. So in a desperate move, Mari takes Conor and sets out to find their estranged grandmother, hoping to throw themselves at the mercy of the only person who might take them in.

On their way to New England, the duo experiences the snarls of LA traffic, the backroads of the Midwest, and a monumental stop in Missouri where they witness the solar eclipse, an event with which Conor is obsessed. Mari also learns about the inner workings of her stepbrother’s mind and about her connections to him and to the world…and maybe even a little about her own place in it.

A beautiful exploration of identity and family, this heartwarming and engaging middle grade novel comes from renowned storyteller and two-time Grammy Award winner Bill Harley.

Author/Illustrator

Bill Harley

Author

Bill Harley is a two-time Grammy Award-winning storyteller, musician, and writer who has been writing and performing for kids and families for more than twenty-five years. He is the recipient of Parents’ Choice and ALA awards. He won a 2007 Grammy Award for his children’s storytelling album Blah Blah Blah and a 2009 Grammy Award for his children’s spoken-word album Yes to Running! Bill Harley Live. He lives in Massachusetts.

Videos

Reviews

“A grand journey measured in both physical and emotional distance.”Kirkus Reviews

“This poetically written and economically plotted hero’s journey by Harley (the Charlie Bumpers series) makes a heartwarming, hopeful case for self-forgiveness and second chances.”—Publishers Weekly

“As hopeful as it is heartbreaking, the novel Now You Say Yes follows a siblings’ search for a place in the world.”—Foreword Reviews

Resources

Resources: Discussion Guide, Other, Videos & Trailers

Discussion Guide

More Details

F&P: Z, Gr 7-8, Genre RF
Lexile: 750L
Themes: Adolescence, Autism, Families, Sibling Relationships, Solar Eclipse, Foster Care, Emotions, Search for Identity
BISAC 1: JUV039020 JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Adolescence & Coming of Age
BISAC 2: JUV013050 JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Orphans & Foster Homes
BISAC 3: JUV039130 JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Runaways