JUST DO THIS ONE THING FOR ME

Three siblings go to dramatic lengths to hide their neglectful mother’s disappearance in this comedic novel.

Drew, who is almost 18, is used to the responsibility of caring for Carna, her deeply sarcastic 15-year-old sister, and Lock, her sweet brother who is just 8. She’s been filling in the sizable gaps left by her mom’s irresponsibility since she was in grade school, but even she is challenged when her mom stops responding to texts en route to a Justin Timberlake concert in Mexico. Additionally, though Drew is dedicated to her younger charges, her exit plan after graduation has been in the works for a long time. Drew’s bitingly funny, smart, and deceptively vulnerable voice drives this contemporary fiction offering that delivers madcap comedy, a bit of a mystery, and an engaging family drama. Some secondary characters are more developed than others, and the short, vignette-style chapters feel a little choppy in places, but Drew, Carna, and Lock are an unforgettable trio that readers will wholeheartedly root for despite—and also because of—their realistic problems and human fallibilities. The rural Wisconsin setting of their curmudgeonly father’s lake cabin and the wintry details of Larch Leap, the fictional town they live in, are spot-on, adding an appealing sense of place to this character-driven story. All of the characters seem to be white.

An often hilarious yet also poignant tale of sibling loyalty.