An Occasionally Happy Family (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780358325673)

Gordon Korman meets The Great Outdoors in this funny and moving debut about a boy who goes on a disastrous family vacation (sweltering heat! bear chases!) that ends with a terrible surprise: his dad's new girlfriend.

There are zero reasons for Theo Ripley to look forward to his family vacation. Not only are he, 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.

Author: Cliff Burke
ISBN-10: 0358325676
ISBN-13: 9780358325673
Publisher: Clarion Books
Language: English
Published: 05/18/2021
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.50w x 0.90d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.7
Point Value: 7
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 512405 / Occasionally Happy Family


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2021
School Library Journal 05/28/2021 pg. 1