By Laura Tucker
Viking, 2019. Fiction.
Ollie is an artist, like her parents. It's 1981 and she lives in Soho in New York City in a neighborhood surrounded by other artists. Her mother is an artist-in-residence who creates intricate sculptures out of found garbage, her father restores paintings with his partner Apollo, and Olympia is eager to try her hand at everything from drawing to sculpting. But then Ollie's father heads to France with his new girlfriend on a mysterious covert mission and her mother goes to bed - where she stays for days. Ollie is determined to keep her mom's depression and, with the help of her best friends Richard and Alex, solve the mystery of her father's disappearance - so he'll come home and make everything normal again.
This book is a realistic look at what it's like to have a parent coping with depression, but the pretty heavy subject matter is brightened up by the threads of an art mystery weaving throughout the story. Laura Tucker, in her debut novel, masterfully weaves the two elements of the story together in a rich and sophisticated way. The unique and well-described setting comes to life with the help of thoughtfully constructed characters and beautifully detailed text. A completely satisfying read.
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