Book Review: Here's to You, Zeb Pike by Johanna Parkhurst

Here's to You, Zeb Pike is an excellent book. The title was intriguing and beckoned me in, but it was Dusty's voice and his story that kept me glued to my kindle form start to finish.

The basic points of the plot are revealed in the book blurb. Dusty Porter and his little brother and sister have been, in essence, abandoned by their parents, leaving Dusty to take care of himself and his siblings. Considering Dusty had to teach himself how to do everything, including laundry and budgeting whatever money his parents leave behind on their irregular "visits" with the kids, Dusty is actually doing a remarkably good job. Still, both he and his siblings are losing key parts of their childhood and have to be mature beyond their years.

Dusty doesn't like the situation, but he's determined to do whatever he needs to do to keep all three siblings together. Unfortunately, his sister's appendicitis reveals the scheme to the authorities, and the only family available to tke the kids without splitting them up are an aunt and uncle they never knew existed who live in Vermont. Dusty resents having to leave Colorado Springs and his friends behind, and that's just the start of the storm of change that sweeps Dusty into uncharted territory.

 The book works because Dusty, who narrates much of the story in first person, is very genuine. His confusion, frustration and resentment are perfectly described, as are his feelings for the older brother of his new classmate, who may or may not be gay. While Dusty's more mature than most boys his age, he's still a kid and he reacts as a kid would, including angst-driven episodes of acting out.

My one minor quibble with the book is the inclusion of some big coincidences in the plot that require a bit of suspension of disbelief, but the pace of the action and Dusty's commentary make that pretty easy. The author is so good that I didn't even mind what is normally my pet peeve in books, which is a change in voice. In this instance, the author cleverly used third person flashbacks to show the reader things that Dusty himself could not, a device I found very effective.

I would very enthusiastically recommend this book both to the young adults who are the intended audience and to older readers who enjoy the genre. It was definitely a five star read for me and a nice way to start off 2014.