Publishers Weekly
★ 03/11/2024
Tacoma Jones and her parents run the Brake Fast Truck Stop, a diner in Washington State that only serves breakfast. But the straitlaced 12-year-old yearns to eat something other than “eggs or oatmeal or pancakes,” and has been collecting cookbooks from different states and dreaming of meatloaf. After her father’s treasured photograph goes missing, Tacoma resolves to track it down, believing that its retrieval will help her dad navigate his latest depressive episode (“If I don’t need to be sorry for having asthma, you don’t need to be sorry for having depression,” Tacoma tells him). Enlisting help from Denver Cass, a fellow loner with a sarcastic streak, Tacoma sets off on a spirited odyssey through Washington following the photograph and assembling ingredients for her long hoped-for dinner, along the way forging a friendship with Denver, as well as an unexpected alliance with her school tormentor. Rich characterizations, an electrifyingly original yet believable plot, and a perceptive voice distinguishes this captivating road trip tale by Lute (The Exceptional Maggie Chowder). With standout compassion and candor, Lute explores the sometimes heartbreaking reality of living with a depressed parent and the joy that friends and cooking can bring. Tacoma and Denver read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Samantha Wekstein, Thompson Literary. (June)
From the Publisher
"Rich characterizations, an electrifyingly original yet believable plot, and a perceptive voice distinguishes this captivating road trip tale. With standout compassion and candor, Lute explores the sometimes heartbreaking reality of living with a depressed parent and the joy that friends and cooking can bring." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A sweet, far-from-bland tale rich in food, family, and freshly made friendships." — Booklist (starred review)
"The rural Washington setting provides a wealth of quirky characters and locales, and the one-day timeframe lends a satisfying immediacy to the kids’ adventures... An uplifting caper " — Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
2024-04-20
Twelve-year-old Tacoma spends her evenings and weekends working at her parents’ Washington state truck stop, the Brake Fast.
Socially isolated due to her work schedule and some bullies at school, Tacoma becomes cautiously excited when a musician’s tour bus breaks down at the truck stop, stranding the driver’s 13-year-old son, Denver, along with the band. The two kids team up on a quest to retrieve a stolen Brake Fast memento from an adult bully named Crocodile Kyle and then buy groceries for Tacoma’s first-ever dinner menu at the Brake Fast Truck Stop, which serves only breakfast foods all day long. What begins as hijinks turns to melodrama as the pair absorb a third member—Tacoma’s mean classmate and Crocodile Kyle’s nephew, Hudgie—and each begins to reveal their personal challenges and traumas over the course of the day. The author treats issues such as anxiety, parental depression, and verbal abuse with sensitivity, though the kids divulge their vulnerabilities with implausible speed, blunting the power of the emotional arc. The rural Washington setting provides a wealth of quirky characters and locales, and the one-day time frame lends a satisfying immediacy to the kids’ adventures. It also requires a time warp, allowing three kids to cook a multicourse dinner for 18 people in just a couple of hours and leaving time for a public showdown with Crocodile Kyle. Physical descriptions are minimal; most characters are apparently white.
An uplifting caper for readers who don’t mind some emotional shortcuts. (Fiction. 8-12)
