School Library Connection
"This is a sweet story about family, truth, protection, friendship, and first crushes. . . Not only does the author construct a story that draws the reader in, she also provides a love and understanding of the art of storytelling."
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
**STARRED REVIEW** "This subtle road trip story evades clichés while working within tropes, and Lang leaves her reader with optimism but no easy solutions."
Booklist
"It’s a terrific and moving tale that touches on the beauty of familial bonds, the nebulous concept of home, and the importance of the stories we choose to tell ourselves about our lives."
From the Publisher
**STARRED REVIEW** "This subtle road trip story evades clichés while working within tropes, and Lang leaves her reader with optimism but no easy solutions." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"This is a sweet story about family, truth, protection, friendship, and first crushes. . . Not only does the author construct a story that draws the reader in, she also provides a love and understanding of the art of storytelling."—School Library Connection
"It’s a terrific and moving tale that touches on the beauty of familial bonds, the nebulous concept of home, and the importance of the stories we choose to tell ourselves about our lives." —Booklist
Kirkus Reviews
2019-12-08
Stories don't always end the way we'd hope.
That's the conclusion reached by 12-year-old Claire Jacobus, who is just trying to find out what really happened to the mother who disappeared from her life when she was 4. Meanwhile, her playful dad only spins more and more fanciful tales about what might have transpired, to the delight of her 8-year-old brother, Patrick. And when their father suddenly decides they'll leave their house in favor of a van with sleeping hammocks, he insists they are not homeless, per se, but instead off on a "Grand Adventure" akin to those memorialized on Instagram as #vanlife. The family eventually goes in search of the mother despite Claire's knowledge of divorce papers and the emotional risk involved. Even filtered through Claire's third-person perspective, Lang deftly shows how endearing Dad is despite his faults, and readers will enjoy the embedded story of ancestor Wrong Way Jacobus and his inedible baguettes. Conclusion: We may not always get to choose our circumstances, but we sometimes get to choose the narrative lens through which we see our world. The family presents as white.
A free-wheeling jaunt that merges fact with fiction in hopes of finding greater truths. (author's note) (Fiction. 8-12)
