New York: Quill Tree Books, 2024. Fiction. 195 pages.
12-year-old Tacoma loves working with her mom and dad at their roadside diner, the Brake Fast. What she loves less is the constant breakfast menu --day and night, breakfast! So, she's thrilled when her parents tell her she can finally make dinner --a real dinner-- for her family and customers. Her excitement fades, however, when the morning of the planned dinner she realizes that her dad, who suffers from depression, is having a depressive episode. Tacoma has enough experience with her dad's depression to know nothing she does will fix his disease, but she's determined to do what she can, including stealing back his prized photograph from the terrible Crocodile Kyle, and making the best dinner ever. Luckily, she picks up two potential friends to help her on her quest.
I loved the kind and caring way that depression is discussed in this book. Tacoma's love for her dad, her struggles with guilt about her dad's condition, and the accompanying panic attacks that she battles as she tries to handle his ups and down, were told without pulling punches, but with sensitivity. I loved precocious Denver, a boy who travels with a band on a tour bus, who becomes Tacoma's fast friend and accomplice. Both of them are new to having friends, so it was lovely to see them blossom as their friendship did. Touching, funny, and a real and compassionate look at depression.
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