Father figure by Richard Peck

Father figure by Richard Peck. Puffin, 1996.

Originally published in 1978 some aspects of the book show its age. Jim is 17 and has been his younger brother Byron's father figure for eight years, since their parent's divorce when Byron was only months old. Their mother suffers from a terminal illness and commits suicide knowing there is no further medical treatments available. The boy's grandmother doesn't believe in expressing emotions, hence the boys' shut down and don't express their emotions. They are sent to Florida to stay with their father, a man they have only seen once since the divorce, at their mother's funeral. Jim and Byron begin to express their grief and to adapt to the new family dynamics.