Harris and Me

"Harris and Me" is a young-adult fiction novel written by award-winning author, Gary Paulsen. The book is composed of a collection of vignettes with a subheading to preview each chapter.

Plot

Set in the early 1950s, "Harris and Me" tells the story of a city boy around the age of 12-year-old who is sent to spend each summer with various relatives because his parents are alcoholics. The book has a first person narrator, and though Gary Paulsen has said many of the events in the story are based on his own life, it is not nonfiction. One particular summer, the narrator is sent to the Larson farm which belongs to his 2nd uncle's family. At first, the narrator is unhappy about spending the summer at the farm. He soon becomes friends with his cousin, Harris. Harris is drawn to mischief and adventure. Playing "war" with the pigs, pretending he was Tarzan jumping out of the granary roof, peeing on an electric wire fence, and hooking up a gas washing machine motor to an old bicycle are just a few of the adventures. Harris' desire for mischief is driven by his determination to have a more adventurous life than his busy, boring parents. Throughout the story, Harris introduces the narrator to things he is unaware of, and for the first time, this young boy from the city had found a place where he feels he belongs.

Themes

*Home life
*Belonging
*Family
*Acceptance

References

* Juliane F. Gillispie and Robert M. Otten. "Harris and Me: A Summer Remembered: For Further Reference." Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults. Ed. Kirk H. Beeeetz. Vol 7. Beacham-Gale, 1990. [http://www.enotes.com/harris-me-qn/further-reference eNotes.com] . January 2005. 26 June 2008
* Nile, Amber. "Harris and Me". Secondary English. 19 June 2008 http://www.secondaryenglish.com/harrisandme.htm.
* Paulsen, Gary. "Harris and Me". Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 1993.