by Lisa Fipps
First published 2024
Joe Oak knows his mother will disappear again. She always gets "the itch" and leaves him behind. This time, Joe and his grandmother lose their home entirely. Joe finds comfort in his journals and comic books, where superheroes face impossible odds and somehow survive their own "and then, boom" moments. His friend Nick helps them find shelter in a trailer park, but Joe's mother vanishes once more. Joe hides the truth from everyone. He fears foster care and believes his mother will return. The bills mount up. The electricity gets cut off. School ends, taking away his free meals. Joe starts searching dumpsters for food. He discovers a starving dog with two puppies who need his help. Then a real tornado approaches their trailer park. Joe faces his biggest test yet as everything he knows gets torn apart.
Genres: fiction, family-life, contemporary, young-adult
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, hidden-truth
Setting: Trailer Park
Period: Contemporary
425 pages · Library Binding · Youth Large Print
Content warnings: child-abuse, substance-abuse