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Summary
Summary
By the award-winning author of Waiting for Normal and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Leslie Connor. Muliple award winner: Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book * Smithsonian Magazine Notable Book for Children * Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice
Crunch asks: What might happen if the earth's supply of gas runs out? It's a perfect classroom read to spark discussions about energy conservation and the future of our planet.
Dewey Marriss is stuck in 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. 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. To top things off, Dewey discovers that bike parts are missing from the shop. He's sure he knows who's responsible--or does he? Will exposing the thief only make more trouble for Dewey and his siblings?
"Charming and original." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Fifteen-year-old Dewey, his older sister Lil, and their three younger siblings have to muscle it out on their own after a fuel crisis leaves their parents stranded in Canada in this story (Katherine Tegen Books, 2010) by Leslie Connor. The siblings manage to keep the family's bike repair shop running and the five-year-old twins out of trouble. However, the stress of not knowing when their parents will return, combined with the overwhelming demand for bike repairs during the fuel shortage, puts the crunch on Dewey. Add to that a pesky, egg-pinching neighbor, a few rowdy animals, and a full-fledged thief, and the Marris kids have their hands full. Ramon de Ocampo gives each character a distinct voice and enhances the often humorous situations. The only snag is that the kids are almost too perfect. For those who like their fiction squeaky clean.-Richelle Roth, Boone County Public Library, Florence, KY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Connor's (Waiting for Normal) lighthearted yet realistic fourth novel, the Marriss family's five siblings are used to being self-sufficient. They live in the small town of Rocky Shores where they grow fruits and vegetables, have a few goats and chickens, and run the Marriss Bike Barn repair shop. It's a carefree summer until a gas shortage hits and their parents get stuck on the road, leaving 14-year-old Dewey and his older sister, Lil, to manage their contrary brother Vince, the five-year-old twins, their crabby neighbor, and the increase in demand for bike repairs all on their own. "I felt a sense of something--freedom or ownership. I liked it. But already I was thinking that I wasn't sure how long I wanted it to last," says Dewey. The pair slowly becomes overwhelmed and concerned as a result of the imminent grocery paucity and an increasing number of bike thieves. Connor paints an optimistic, mildly cartoonish, and endearing picture of a do-it-yourself family who discovers the power of collaboration. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
Horn Book Review
With their parents stuck up north because of a severe fuel shortage-"pumps are dry clear across the country"-the five Marriss children must hold down the fort at home. At first, they're just keeping on keeping on, with each day seeming like the one before: fourteen-year-old narrator Dewey takes the five-year-old twins to summer camp each day, allowing older sister Lil to attend art school, then Dewey and thirteen-year-old Vince make the few simple repairs for the family's sideline bike business. But soon the days change dramatically. At first there are fewer trucks and cars on the highway; then there are none. Grocery store shelves empty out; a few petty thefts occur; and the now-growing bike business is about to overrun the Marriss boys' abilities, time, and supplies. Overwhelmed, Dewey changes from a happy-go-lucky kid to a Type A personality. But in Connor's ultimately upbeat novel, this element of discord is short-lived. Like a pleasant bicycle jaunt during the lazy days of summer, the narrative ambles along, providing a glimpse of the literary countryside of mystery, speculative fiction, social commentary, and character development, but never stopping very long at any one spot. A feel-good denouement, as spectacular as a Busby Berkeley musical finale, brings the small community together, neighbors willing to learn how to help themselves and others, and, finally, even the return home of Mom and Dad. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
It's crunch time for the Mariss family. When a critical national fuel shortage strands their vacationing parents far from home, it's up to Dewey (14) and older sister Lil (18) to serve as surrogate parents to their three younger siblings. Dewey draws double duty, however, because he must also manage the family's bike-repair shop, and as people have no choice but to rely on bikes for transportation, business is booming. This is mostly manageable until someone throws a figurative sprocket wrench into the spokes by stealing from the shop's inventory! Is it the creepy old geezer who lives next door? Or maybe the nice young man who's befriended the family? Or . . . ? Well, it's a mystery, for sure, but clever Dewey contrives a plan to discover the culprit. The element of uncertainty keeps the pages turning while Connor addresses a timely issue America's dependence on fossil fuels that will provoke classroom discussion and invite further reading.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2010 Booklist