Crunch by Leslie Connor

Amazon Product Description

"Dewey Marriss is stuck in the middle of 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 with an empty fuel tank and no way home. 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.
Each day Dewey and his siblings feel their parents' absence more and more. The Marriss Bike Barn is busier than ever. And just when he is starting to feel crunched himself, 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? "

I truly enjoyed this book. Connor has created a very love-able character in Dewey.  Dewey's not perfect but he's hard working and learns from his mistakes.   The characters in Crunch are quirky and humorous providing for a fun read about a serious situation.  I doubt that people in real life would adapt to gas pumps running dry as well as the characters in this book. However, one can hope.

I have to admit that I did find Dewey's older sister Lil, to be rather bossy and somewhat annoying. Poor Dewey was doing all the work, while she spent her days working on her art (not that art isn't serious). While Dewey did make mistakes and perhaps got in over his head, he did remarkably well for a 14 year old child.  Meanwhile, Lil was content to let Dewey shoulder all the work. If  if she was going to act in the place of their parents,  she could have done so with a little more consistency and not just when it suited her.

All in all I found this to be a feel good read that dealt with a serious situation in a humorous way.  It was a quick read and I didn't want to stop once I started.

Recommended for 5th Grade and up.

Mrs. Archer's rating: 4 1/2 of 5.