And Then, Boom!

A gripping new novel in verse by the author of the Printz Honor-winning Starfish,featuring a poverty-stricken boy who bravely rides out all the storms life keeps throwing at him Joe Oak is used to living on unsteady ground. His mom canΓÇÖt be depended on as she never stays around long once she gets ΓÇ£the itchΓÇ¥ and now he and his beloved grandmother find themselves without a home. FortunatelyJoe has an outlet in his journals and drawings and takes comfort from the lessons of comic booksΓÇösuperheroes have a lot of ΓÇ£and thenboomΓÇ¥ momentswhere everything threatens to go bust but somehow they land on their feet. And that seems to happen a lot to Joe tooas in this crisis his friend Nick helps them find a home in his trailer park. But things fall apart again when Joe is suddenly left to fend for himself. He doesnΓÇÖt tell anyone heΓÇÖs on his ownas he fears foster care and has hope his mom will come back. But time is running outΓÇöbills are piling upthe electricityΓÇÖs been shut offand the school yearΓÇÖs about to endmeaning no more free meals. The struggle to feed himself gets intenseand Joe finds himself dumpster diving for meals. HeΓÇÖs never felt so aloneΓÇöuntil an emaciated little dog and her two tiny pups cross his path. And fate has even more in store for Joebecause an actual tornado is about to hit homeΓÇöand just when it seems all is losthis life turns in a direction that he never could have predicted.