An Occasionally Happy Family

An Occasionally Happy Family

Gordon Korman meets The Great Outdoors in this funny and moving debut about a boy who goes on a disastrous family vacation (sweltering heat! bear chases!) that ends with a terrible surprise: his dad's new girlfriend. There are zero reasons for Theo Ripley to look forward to his family vacation. Not only are he, sister Laura, and nature-obsessed Dad going to Big Bend, the least popular National Park, but once there, the family will be camping. And Theo is an indoor animal. It doesn’t help that this will be the first vacation they’re taking since Mom passed away.   Once there, the family contends with 110 degree days, wild bears, and an annoying amateur ornithologist and his awful teenage vlogger son. Then, Theo’s dad hits him with a whopper of a surprise: the whole trip is just a trick to introduce his secret new girlfriend.     Theo tries to squash down the pain in his chest. But when it becomes clear that this is an auditioning-to-be-his-stepmom girlfriend, Theo must find a way to face his grief and talk to his dad before his family is forever changed. Gr 3–6—Theo is glad that it is his summer vacation. He thinks about all the fun he will have with his friends, playing video games or going to robotics camp. However, those plans are not in the cards for Theo. He has been roped into going with his dad and older sister to Big Bend National Park, the least popular of all the national parks. While this is a little better than the family's usual vacation of visiting their grandmother, it's still a lot of hiking in the woods with bugs and high temperatures. Theo's dad, a typical high school science teacher, loves nature and is a bit too eager for the trip—he has also not planned all that well. Luckily, Laura excels at planning and has brought better snacks, found more amusing activities, and has even upgraded their overnight stays. Since their mother's death from cancer a few years ago, Laura's taken on the role of family organizer. Theo isn't thrilled about the idea of the long drive with limited electronics time, or doing any of that outdoor camping stuff, but those things end up being the least of his worries. Theo goes from one unpleasant situation to another (including sweltering heat, his dad's new hiker "friends," and a close encounter with wildlife) until he finally discovers that his dad's big secret is a woman he's been seeing and he wants them to meet. This is a good, realistic, and a funny book about a family in transition. There are plenty of funny moments, and the scenes with Lucrecia hit just the right note. VERDICT Sure to be a popular title, especially with fans of humor, road trip adventures, and James Patterson's books.—Amy Caldera, Dripping Springs M.S., TX "Deftly capturing the childhood torture of family road trips, Burke nails the hilarious dialogue between Theo; his 16-year-old sister, Laura; and their science teacher dad....a riotous cast of eye-opening characters.... Each short chapter provides a glimpse of the humor and pain caused by the lack of communication and unaddressed grief that burdens each family member.....With memorable characters and voices, realistic emotions, and an extra helping of humor, this title rocks.... A masterful look at loss and mourning wrapped up in a hilariously painful family vacation." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "This is a good, realistic, and a funny book about a family in transition....Sure to be a popular title, especially with fans of humor, road trip adventures, and James Patterson’s books." - School Library Journal "Coursing underneath this comically disastrous road trip romp is a painfully real and poignant reflection on how families find the strength to cope with loss. Funny and fast-paced (and  occasionally  happy), Theo's journey is one many young readers will relate to and enjoy." - John David Anderson, author of Ms. Bixby's Last Day and Posted Clifford Burke grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. He worked as a house painter, a parking lot attendant, and a sign-twirling dancing banana before graduating from the College of William and Mary. He currently teaches English in the Bay Area. One My goal in school is to be noticed as little as possible. This is difficult because my school doesn't have walls.       I mean, it has four walls on the outside, but none on the inside. It's one of those 'open concept' schools where each grade has its own floor and it's up to the teachers how they want to organize it.       At the beginning of the year, some teachers tried to build their own walls by stacking books floor-to-ceiling around their teaching areas. I liked these enclosed spaces because they were almost like real classrooms. When I was inside them, I didn't have to worry about someone making a face or mouthing a curse word at me from the end of the hallway.       But the walls made of books didn't last very long. It became popular to treat them like giant games of Jenga, and everyone competed to see who could punch out