Crunch by Leslie Connor

Fourteen-year-old Dewey Marriss should be enjoying his summer. But when a gas shortage leads to a complete shutdown of all vehicles, stranding his parents far away from the family, Dewey and his older sister Lil find themselves in charge of the Marriss household - including a 13-year-old brother, five-year-old twins, two dogs, chickens, a cranky neighbour, and a bicycle repair business. Balancing everything is tough, especially because the Bike Barn's business is booming with so many people using bicycles to get around. Dewey can barely handle the responsibility, and when parts (and money) start to go missing from the store, he's afraid he might be in over his head.

There's such a nice matter-of-factness about this book. In other books, something like a fuel shortage would be a cue for the world ending. In this book, life goes on somewhat as usual: the twins keep going to day camp, groceries and parts can still be bought (you just need to carry them home on a bike), the police are still the trusted law enforcers, and families stick together. None of the Marriss siblings are perfect, but their flaws are so naturally built into realistic characters. The family loves each other and even when they're arguing, they're still coming from an organic place.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies