ABANDONED. book about a boy whose dad is dead but he denies it and writes letters pretending are from the dad, his mom is an alcoholic and he has a pet raccoon

[Deirdre]

this book is probably either 70s 80s or 90s, its pretty old and i cant find it online. basically the kids dad is dead but he denies it and is sent to therapy with a girl who partially hates him, and she eventually believes that his dad is alive, but then realizes he isnt, so together they go to his dads grave and set off a firework and he finally lets go. he also has a pet raccoon who dies in a party fire and he also beats up the girl a bit whos name is maybe margaret or lynne. if you can help thank you!!! i miss this book. I read it in 2016 but it's older

[Kate]

Deirdre,
Was Hannah's suggestion your book? Please let us know. If your thread is solved, we will mark it and shelve the book.
Thanks!

[Jessica]

I second Pardon Me, You're Stepping on my Eyeball. I read that a couple of times as a kid.

[Rainbowheart]

Pardon Me, You're Stepping on My Eyeball for the link.

[Kris]

No response, moving to Abandoned folder.

Deirdre (OP) was last active on the site in September 2018.