The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen

About Susin Nielsen

Gemini Award-winner Tundra author Susin Nielsen got her start feeding cast and crew muffins and bologna sandwiches on the popular television series, Degrassi Junior High. They hated her food (a fact that’s memorialized forever in a poem the cast wrote: “An ode to Susin, the Bran Muffin Queen, we eat them, we die, then we turn green”). Luckily for Susin, they saw a spark in a spec script she wrote. Nielsen went on to pen sixteen episodes of the hit television show, and four of the books in the Degrassi book series. Since then, Nielsen, who has received two Canadian Screenwriter awards, has written and story-edited many TV series, including Ready or Not, Madison, The Adventures of Shirley Holmes, Edgemont, and two animated series, What About Mimi and Braceface. She co-created the pre-school series Franny’s Feet, and is the co-creator and showrunner of the critically acclaimed series Robson Arms. She also adapted author Susan Juby’s book, Alice, I Think, into a TV series. Nielsen has also published three children’s books: Hank and Fergus, winner of the Mr. Christie’s Silver Medal Award, Mormor Moves In, and The Magic Beads. She lives in Vancouver with her husband, Goran, son, Oskar, and cat, Sam.

Praise

Winner - Governor General's Award - Children's Literature (2012)
FINALIST, BC Book Prizes’ Sheila A. Egoff  Children’s Literature Prize 

 
 “The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen is an engaging grief story. Thought-provoking and relevant, it addresses the effects of bullying in a realistic, compelling and compassionate way, exemplifying the adage ‘There are two sides to every story.’ Henry’s journey is moving and weirdly, wildly funny.”
—Jury’s Citation, Governor General’s Literary Award in Children’s Text

“…Words and writing are often a salvation in Nielsen’s YA fiction. Henry is forced to keep a journal by his therapist; he is at first reluctant, then obsessive about it. A born diarist, he exhibits the idiosyncratic voice of a memoirist, one keenly interested in documenting both his inner and outer worlds. He captures both with humour and heart…. Yet the novel is a dramedy, and believably balances lightness and darkness. It is a shame when the reader must put down the journal and say goodbye to Henry.”
—The National Post

“…A realistic, poignant portrait of one teen who overcomes nearly unbearable feelings of grief and guilt.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Nielsen treats a heavy subject with a light, optimistic touch, and while Henry’s passion and distress are evident, his wacky commitment to ‘Saturday Night Smash-up’ and his own ironic, yet earnest, perspective leavens the serious subject matter.”
—The Toronto Star

“…Henry’s is a tough story to read and I can only imagine how hard it was to write it. But it’s one that really needs to be heard. And honestly, I couldn’t have pictured anyone but Nielsen telling it.”
—Lavender Lines

Beautiful and thought provoking The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen is filled with lessons, heartache, pain, anger, family and friendship. Wonderfully done….”
—Book Nerd

 “…a highly emotional story about a family that blames one another, and themselves, for an unimaginable tragedy. Nielsen’s balance of humor and pathos is finely honed, making this a surprisingly breezy read for so heavy a topic.”
—Booklist

“…With fully developed adult and child characters and a solid sense of middle school humor, the author has crafted an insightful and nuanced novel about bullying and suicide, and familial love and resilience.”
—Starred, School Library Journal

Awards

WINNER 2012 Governor General's Literary Award - Children (English)