No Parking at the End Times

December 22, 2014
Abigail and her twin brother, Aaron, live in a van in San Francisco, begging for meals from local churches and waiting for the end of the world with their fervently religious father and dutiful mother. After their zealot preacher’s prediction falls short, the teens approach their breaking points, desperate for some semblance of normalcy. The family’s hapless circumstances provide a distinctive backdrop for this contemplative coming-of-age tale, Bliss’s debut. As a homeless teen, Abigail is unfairly and abruptly cast in a parental role when her parents fail to provide the basic necessities, selling their home and giving their money to a man who is little more than a con artist. Bliss’s languidly paced story focuses on Abigail’s internal turmoil as she questions her faith, her parents’ sanity, and her bond with her brother. But there are plenty of external events to push the story forward, from the siblings’ late-night explorations with street kids they befriend to Abigail’s jogs, which serve as much-needed escapes from her claustrophobic existence. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

November 15, 2014
Even though the end of the world didn't happen, it still feels like it to Abigail.After the teen's down-and-out parents sell all their possessions in North Carolina and give the money to smarmy Brother John in California-who claims that the end of the world is near-Abigail, her twin brother, Aaron, and her still-trusting parents find themselves homeless, living out of their van in San Francisco. In this debut novel informed more by adult sensibility than teenspeak, Abigail begins to see her parents' manipulation by Brother John and questions her own faith in the world. Aaron, meanwhile, escapes the insanity by sneaking out each evening to meet up with the city's other homeless teens. As Abigail notices her once-close brother's increasing detachment from her and the family, she wrestles with a range of emotions, from jealousy to separation anxiety. Packed with some lovely phrasing, the story has good intentions, but a slow, repetitious plot and a lack of tension will keep it from fully engaging most adolescent readers. A hopeful yet too-tidy ending offers instant resolutions. Thoughtful readers may take interest in Abigail's self-discoveries. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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November 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-This haunting and elegiac tale opens with Abigail and her family living in a van parked on the San Francisco streets. Months earlier, Abby's unemployed father took the family from their North Carolina home to follow "Brother John" across the country to a place where they would all meet the end of days together. The world was due to end at midnight on New Year's Eve. Now it's January, the world did not end, and Abby, her twin brother Aaron, and her parents still have no home. With no school to attend, Abby and Aaron's only escape from the close confines of the van is the predatory self-anointed preacher's "church" (an empty store). The family is often hungry, cold, and dirty-yet do not consider themselves "homeless." Aaron has hooked up with a group of homeless teens who hang out in the park and has begun a secret relationship with Jess, a street-smart girl who left home at 14 when her mother's boyfriend sexually abused her. Abby wants to continue to be the good girl her parents expect and to protect her brother from getting mixed up in dangerous street drama, but most of all, she wants to go home. The protagonist's desperation is palpable. Readers will wait anxiously for something terrible to happen, only to come to the dawning realization that it already has. Bliss offers a stark portrayal of a family lost and a searing perspective on homelessness. An interesting choice for book discussion and recommended for readers of realistic fiction.-Tara Kehoe, New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center, Trenton

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 Twins Abby and Aaron's parents sell all their belongings to drive across the country to the San Francisco store-front church of charming huckster Brother John to await the end of the world. But the end times never come, and since her father gave all their money to Brother John, Abby and her family are left living on the streets of the city and sleeping in their van. Aaron is furious, but Abby clings desperately to her faith not only in God but also in her parents, whom she believes will surely take them home any day now. But when Aaron gets hurt and Brother John convinces Abby's parents to leave his fate in God's hands alone, she takes a stand. The stark tone in Abby's first-person narrative effectively captures the uncertainty and danger of street-kid life as well as her anger about Brother John's destructively self-righteous religious conviction. This gut-wrenching story carefully explores belief with nuance and sensitivity, particularly when Abby considers the difference between faith in God and faith in an institution.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2015
On the night of the Rapture, Abigail and her family, newly arrived in San Francisco from North Carolina, pray for ascension, for the quick deliverance Brother John promised. When the world doesn't end, Abigail instead prays for her parents to "start the van and take us home. To save us in the way God was supposed to." But her prayers go unanswered, and her parents' choice to live in their van while awaiting divine guidance puts Abigail's faith in God and family to the test. Cautious and thoughtful, Abigail is a dutiful daughter who can't imagine life without her parents, however flawed. Her twin brother Aaron is less compliant -- he begins sneaking out at night, socializing with other homeless teens, and pressuring Abigail to join him in an escape. Bliss's depiction of a middle-class, suburban family's transition to life on the inhospitable San Francisco streets is nuanced and character-driven; the tightly focused first-person narration centers the story squarely on Abigail as she gathers the courage to choose between her family and her future. Bliss's debut explores family, sacrifice, and the power of everyday faith with a deft and sensitive hand. jessica tackett macdonald

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