Crunch

Crunch
by Leslie Connor

Connor has created a world where the oil has finally diminished to such a low supply that it must be carefully rationed to those who need it most. Dewey Mariss’s father is a truck driver so he gets ration tickets in order to make deliveries. Even ration tickets won’t help, however, when there is a gas crunch and no one is going anywhere, at least not under gas power. Just so happens when the crunch hits, Dewey’s father and mother are away on vacation. Dewey and his four siblings must make it on their own while they wait for their parents return. Dewey’s part: running his dad’s bike shop, which is suddenly busy with business, while also keeping an eye on the two young twins and dealing with a rash of small robberies. Crunch provides an interesting summer story for younger readers who have advanced reading skills but are not yet ready for the material covered in some young adult books.