Release: May 18th 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Clarion Books
Source: Amazon
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, Kobo
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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.
About the Author:
Cliff Burke grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. He worked as a house painter, a parking lot attendant, and a sign-twirling dancing banana before graduating from the College of William and Mary. For the past ten years, he has taught reading and writing in China, Hong Kong, and Texas.
Currently, he teaches writing and humanities at a middle school in the San Francisco Bay Area. An Occasionally Happy Family is his first novel.
Cliff is represented by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
An Occasionally Happy Family Review:
“An Occasionally Happy Family” turned out to be a very entertaining middle-grade realistic fiction, and I loved reading it!
Firstly, kudos to the author for writing such a fun debut novel. What stood out in the tale was how the author balances humor with the emotional aspect. Theo, our main character, doesn’t have the best time, as he goes on a trip with his family to Big Bend National Park. Theo encounters various zany situations that made me chuckle as to what would happen next. However, the second half of the tale also gets emotional, and you see a different side to Theo that makes you emphasize with him.
Secondly, the author also takes the plot in such a unique manner. Theo encounters a birdwatcher and his son, gets close to a bear attack, and meets a hilarious nudist French Couple named Sylvie and Bernard. As though this is not enough, his dad also surprises him to meet his new girlfriend, Lucrecia. The story surprises you in that you don’t know what will happen next.
Thirdly, I adored Theo. The author wrote his feelings so accurately that I felt I might have reacted the same way if I were in his shoes. The author also describes his sense of missing his mom and adjusting to the changes nicely. Moreover, the author also describes the beauty and the harshness of nature as the story progresses. Theo also has to bear the small tents to lousy air conditioning in the lodge in scorching weather. On a side note, I also liked the conversations he had with his friend Angel P. about the situation.
Overall, “An Occasionally Happy Family” is a lovely middle-grade novel that will make you laugh and entertain you.
