Crunch

A thoroughly enjoyable book about a teen, Dewey Mariss and his sister who must take over running the family when a severe fuel shortage keeps their mom and dad away longer than expected. Dewey continues to run the family bike repair shop, and business takes off since so many people can't drive

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their cars any longer. The book is an easy read, with believable events and enough detail that a reader could imagine themselves into the story without becoming bored. Highly recommended to bike enthusiasts or young would be entrepreneurs.

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This is an unusual tale of what would happen to an average family if, as a nation, we ran out of gas. Makes you think. Scary but hopeful.

I get why many reviews are calling this 'unrealistic', but I sort of think they haven't hung out much with farm/rural kids. The main protagonist is 14 after all - plenty old enough to do a ton of stuff - and it's not like he gets it right the whole time. Also, the kids aren't exactly on their own -

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this fictional family has a bunch of small town neighbors checking in on them throughout, and the sequence of events really only lasts about a month (as far as I can tell). And feeding yourselves for a month in the middle of summer and fixing bikes - not exactly rocket science. If the crisis had lasted longer with the picture staying rosy - yeah, not likely, but I know plenty of responsible kids that could manage well in these circumstances.Also, geez, it's a kids' book. Compared to many, there's not all that much disbelief to suspend here.I liked it a lot. It does get a bit smug in places (that line about the local store having less trouble w/ supply because it buys mostly local food - totally unnecessary preachiness). But for the most part it reminds me of more old-fashioned books where kids have agency to do interesting, complicated, useful stuff and adults mostly stay out of their way. Sort of reminds me of the Henry Reed books of my youth, although shorter on the humor and goofy schemes.

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Amazon Product Description

"Dewey Marriss is stuck in the middle of a crunch.

He never guessed that the gas pumps would run dry the same week he promised to manage the family's bicycle-repair business. Suddenly everyone needs a bike. And nobody wants to wait.



Meanwhile, the crunch has stranded

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Dewey's parents far up north with an empty fuel tank and no way home. It's up to Dewey and his older sister, Lil, to look after their younger siblings and run the bike shop all on their own.

Each day Dewey and his siblings feel their parents' absence more and more. The Marriss Bike Barn is busier than ever. And just when he is starting to feel crunched himself, Dewey discovers that bike parts are missing from the shop. He's sure he knows who's responsible—or does he? Will exposing the thief only make more trouble for Dewey and his siblings? "



I truly enjoyed this book. Connor has created a very love-able character in Dewey. Dewey's not perfect but he's hard working and learns from his mistakes. The characters in Crunch are quirky and humorous providing for a fun read about a serious situation. I doubt that people in real life would adapt to gas pumps running dry as well as the characters in this book. However, one can hope.

I have to admit that I did find Dewey's older sister Lil, to be rather bossy and somewhat annoying. Poor Dewey was doing all the work, while she spent her days working on her art (not that art isn't serious). While Dewey did make mistakes and perhaps got in over his head, he did remarkably well for a 14 year old child. Meanwhile, Lil was content to let Dewey shoulder all the work. If if she was going to act in the place of their parents, she could have done so with a little more consistency and not just when it suited her.

All in all I found this to be a feel good read that dealt with a serious situation in a humorous way. It was a quick read and I didn't want to stop once I started.



Recommended for 5th Grade and up.

Mrs. Archer's rating: 4 1/2 of 5.

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From May 2010 SLJ
Mom and Dad take an annual anniversary drive up the New England coast, and this year, they’ve agreed to let 18-year-old Lil and 14-year-old Dewey hold down the fort while they’re gone. In an all-too-plausible scenario, though, the national fuel shortage hits crunch level, and

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there is no gasoline to be had. For the first several days that their parents are stranded near the Canadian border, nobody panics: they get the five-year-old twins to summer camp each day, and Dewey and his younger brother Vince keep their dad’s bicycle repair shop running smoothly. But when cars can’t run, the townspeople rely on bikes, and as days turn into weeks, Dewey is overwhelmed with the number of repairs coming in and with the parental responsibilities that he and Lil are sharing. And when parts start disappearing and it becomes evident that a petty thief is on the loose, things get even more complicated. Not wanting to worry their absent parents or to admit that they can’t handle things, Dewey and Lil both initially resist efforts by neighbors to pitch in and help. It is only when things reach the breaking point that both come to realize that there is no shame in trusting in others. While Connor has created a cast of quirky characters and a timely dilemma, she never fully engages the reader the way that she did in Waiting for Normal (2008). Even with Dewey’s first-person narration, relationships come across as a little too good to be true, and the story never quite loses a subtle hint of didacticism.

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Dewey's family owns a bike repair shop, and business is skyrocketing in this book set in an entirely plausible future: US is plumb out of fuel. Everybody who used to drive now needs to ride a bike. The story really focuses on how a family of five kids manages to get along, take care of each other

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and their business when their parents are stranded by the fuel "crunch." A bit on the sweet side, but a welcome alternative to the grisly dystopian futures offered by other authors.

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Crunch tells the story of the Marriss family when Mom and Dad are stuck up North due to a massive, national fuel shortage and the five siblings at home must care for each other throughout the summer. The fuel shortage doesn’t just set the tone for the Marriss family – it also deeply impacts the

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community, making bikes the only reliable mode of transportation. This means the family bike shop is busier than usual with 14 year old Dewey left alone to handle things while his older sister, 18 year old Lil, must manage the household and the two youngest siblings. This book deals with dark issues such as abandonment, growing up too quickly, and loneliness. However, Connor traverses these issues expertly, showing the strength that comes from family, working together, and being honest about your emotions. The recommended age range is 8-12 but children older than 12 would enjoy this book as well – the dystopian setting and emotional complexity make it less appropriate for children under 8. Highly recommended.

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Dewey and his siblings are in a crunch, their parents are stuck out of town because there is a fuel shortage and are unable to get home. The kids are on their own to keep it together, and that means that Dewey is in charge of their Bike Barn, where they fix up bikes. Dewey and his brother, Vince,

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are the ones who handle repairs, but can they keep up with demand, now that people are relying on pedal power to get around? What will happen once Dewey realizing that materials are going missing?
Written by the same author who wrote "Waiting for Normal" crunch is an easy read, but it lacks depth and action.

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A severe fuel shortage strands the Mariss parents in Canada while at home, supplies are short and everyone is getting around by bicycle. Dewey manages his father's informal bike repair shop with brother Vince, while older sister Lil oversees the care of the family and the little twins. The shop

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experiences a booming business that overwhelms Dewey who's trying to keep it together until his parents return. There's an appealing can-do spirit about the Mariss kids as they maintain their responsibilities in an adverse time; even their community is close-knit and positive. It seems to me a widespread fuel shortage would be a much more draconian situation than portrayed, but "Crunch" is really more a story about kids fending for themselves and doing pretty well at it.

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14 year old Dewey Marriss juggles the management of the family's bike repair shop while sharing the household and farm duties with his siblings when a sudden gas crisis strands his parents far from home. Self-reliance and environmental practices highlight the story as well as the good

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neighborliness and community spirit that the family embodies.

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Crunch goes in several directions. It is mainly a story of five brothers and sisters trying to survive at home alone when their parents (truckers) get stranded on the other side of the country when there is an (unexplained) gas crunch, which is so bad, nobody has gas to go anywhere. It is also a

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story of dedication to hard work. Dewey (our narrator) and his brother are determined to keep the family bike repair shop going in their dad's absence - especially since everyone is relying on bikes now. It is part crime story, as there is a wave of small thefts in town. A thief is breaking into businesses and stealing just a few things. But that is solved partway through the book with a bit left to go.
All of these things are done fairly well, but there were enough drawbacks for me that wouldn't really recommend it. The 18 year old older sister - who should be the most responsible one in the family - is worse than useless. While the two brothers work all day in the bike shop and taking care of the two youngest siblings, Lil spends all day doing artwork on the side of the barn. She doesn't help anyone with anything, but still insists she's in charge. Reading this in 2021, having gone through a year and a half of COVID nightmare - I know the portrayal of America with no gasoline is painfully wrong. This country would dissolve into anarchy if suddenly there was no gasoline anywhere, and even trucks and police couldn't travel. And finally, none of the characters were very deeply developed. They were all fairly one-dimensional, and therefore, I didn't really care about them the way I want to care about the characters in a book I read.
So three stars. In most ways a decent story, well written. But the above mentioned drawbacks kept me from loving it.
Curious note: The book is set in the near future. There is nothing at all in the story to say it isn't in the present, except the mention several times of "wheelie pods" which seem to be some sort of vehicle that can be driven without gas. I guess.

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