Don't Fail Me Now

June 29, 2015
After Michelle’s drug-addicted mother is arrested, 17-year-old Michelle is left to fend for her two younger siblings. Again. With virtually no one to help them, Michelle (who is half-black) feels lost until her previously unknown (and “the-color-of-tracing-paper white”) half-sister, Leah, shows up with her stepbrother, Tim. Buck Devereaux—the long-absent father that Michelle, her siblings, and Leah all share—is dying, and he wants to see them. After some persuasion, all five step-siblings pile into Michelle’s broken-down station wagon to travel from Baltimore to California. Buck’s abandonment permeates the complicated getting-to-know-you conversations that happen along the way, helping everyone bond them as they face major obstacles on the road. LaMarche (Like No Other) spends substantial time setting up Michelle’s family’s difficulties, so the story initially stalls before the road trip gets underway. Michelle’s narration can be surprisingly formal (“I’d like to think that I’m owed this one transgression after so many years of playing by my mom’s hypocritical rules, especially since my motives are mostly pure”), but her budding relationship with Tim adds a sweet-natured romantic dimension to this sibling-centered story. Ages 12–up.

July 15, 2015
Five young people drive cross-country seeking to reconnect with the father that had abandoned three of them. Michelle Devereaux may be only 17, but she has long been caretaker for her two younger siblings. Her mother, a chronic substance abuser, is often unable to care for 13-year-old diabetic Cass or 6-year-old Denny, who does not share their father. Michelle has done well in school, and she holds down a much-needed after-school job. It's there that a young man approaches her with news of the father who abandoned them and a half sister named Leah she's known about but has never seen. Propelled by Tim's insistence that her dying father has something of value for her, Michelle concocts a plan to travel cross-country and convinces Tim and Leah to join them. Complicating this scenario is the divide between the privileged white suburban lives the latter two have led and the hardscrabble lives of mixed-race Michelle and Cass. The journey is fraught with mishaps, including near tragedy for one of them. In spite of the implausible road trip, there is a likable quality to the narrative, primarily due to narrator Michelle. Her determination to survive in spite of everything is convincing, and her voice rings true. The inner-city Baltimore setting lends authenticity, but there is too little nuance in the depictions of the adults. This story of teen resilience will resonate with readers. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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August 1, 2015

Gr 6 Up-Michelle, an 17-year-old biracial teen, is almost through with high school in urban Baltimore. This is a blessing and a curse because school has been a reprieve from caring for her younger siblings when their mother, an addict, fails to adequately care for them. Her father is no longer a part of their lives, having left them for another woman and his child with her. They know that they have a half-sister but know little about her. Right after her mother is arrested on a drug charge, Michelle is approached by Tim, the older stepbrother of her half-sister, and is surprised to discover that he and Leah are both white and living in the nearby suburbs. Leah has heard from their father and he is dying. So, all five children get in an old car and head for a hospice in California. The road trip is an eye-opening experience for all of them. This is an excellent look at how race and socioeconomic status can impact children's lives. It draws into sharp relief how this impacts decision-making and perceptions. It also does not shy away from mental health issues and how difficult it is to get help for them when one lives in poverty. It is also a great look at family relationships. The characters are well developed and relatable. Serious issues are tempered with humor for a very readable novel. VERDICT Fans of John Green, Rainbow Rowell, and Sharon Flake will find much to love in this novel.-Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH

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