WARNING: This story features death, loss of mother and spouse, rude hand gestures, and a nudist French couple. Reader discretion is advised.
There are zero reasons for Theo Ripley to look forward to his family vacation. Not only are he, his 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.
Why do so many middle-grade novels involve the death of one parent or both parents? It’s such an overused conflict.
Family vacations never go smoothly. Something always has to go wrong. But who would want to hear a story about a family vacation where everything went right? It would be boring.
There is no correct way for a parent to introduce their boyfriend or girlfriend to their children. But there are wrong ways. And the way Theo’s Dad went about it was very wrong. He thought the best way to tell his kids about his kinda, sorta girlfriend was to introduce her to them on a family vacation. Way to drop the ball on that one, Dad. The Dad’s main mistake was making it a surprise. That is not something you surprise your kids with! The best way that I can figure out to do it is to sit down with the kids and just tell them. Don’t beat around the bush about it. I get that it’s not an easy conversation to have. It will be awkward. There is no way around that.
Even with the sad subject matter, I still enjoyed this book. I loved the witty banter between the characters.
Overall, this story was a perfect blend of humor and heart, exploring the importance of communication after a loss.