I’m behind again on my book reviews. Expect more coming this week. First, though, is this young adult book I read back in mid-January:

Crunch by Leslie Connor

From the jacket: “Dewey Marriss is stuck in the middle of a crunch. He never guessed that the gas pumps would run dry the same week he promised to manage the family’s bicycle-repair business. Suddenly everyone needs a bike. And nobody wants to wait. Meanwhile, the crunch has stranded Dewey’s parents far up north with an empty fuel tank and no way home. It’s up to Dewey and his older sister, Lil, to look after their younger siblings and run the bike shop all on their own.”

My take: I first learned of this book when I overheard a children’s room employee at my favorite local bookstore recommend it to a customer back before Christmas. When it was shortlisted for a Cybil, I quickly checked it out of the library.

I’m glad I did.

Written as an answer to what might have happened if the gasoline rationing of the ’70s had gone further, if gasoline had just suddenly become unavailable, this story is considers how a family of five kids might have dealt with the surprise extended absence of their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Marriss headed out for a week-long 20th anniversary road trip, leaving their four younger children in the capable hands of their 18-year-old daughter. Their eldest son, 14-year-old Dewey, is entrusted with the running of their backwoods bike repair shop. Gas has been rationed all summer, but it is a shock to the entire country when the pumps suddenly go dry, stranding motorists, including the Marriss parents, far from home and forcing local commuters to become more creative.

Suddenly, the highway that runs along the Connecticut coast is no longer filled with rush hour traffic and tractor trailers. Instead, its three lanes have been taken over by pedestrians and cyclists.

Although their parents check in nightly from their location near the Canadian border, the family dynamics start to fray. Five-year-old twins, Eva and Angus, have their bikes stolen while they’re at day camp. Lil’s art class in Elm City is cancelled. And the community’s new-found reliance on two wheels instead of four means that there is suddenly an uptick in business for Dewey and his brother Vince. And while at first this just means one or two more bikes each day, as the lack of gas seems to stretch out interminably in front of everyone, a corresponding and exponential growth in customers means the two teenagers are working non-stop, trying to keep a handle on the family business until their parents can eventually make it home.

This is a gentle book, with gentle characters. The kids have spats with each other, but it’s obvious they care about each other. Lil takes seriously her role as de facto head of household and tries to keep well-intentioned adults from infringing on her turf. Vince, who is perfectly happy with either a fishing rod or a socket wrench in his hand, hates talking to customers and gets grumpy whenever his brother has to leave the shop in his care. Dewey is old enough to feel that he shouldn’t have to listen to Lil without some input of his own. And the twins just want to know when Mom and Dad will be back. Some bad things happen, as they are wont to do during times of economic hardship, but they aren’t terrible and there are caring people around to help deal with the fallout. And through it all the Marriss parents are calling each day from hundreds of miles away, trying to provide a sense of normalcy during an abnormal time and the reassurance that if they all just stick together, they’ll make it through okay.

It’s been a long time since I wept with joy at the end of a book. I recommend this unabashedly for the 4th-6th graders in your life — and for you, too.

Pages: 330