After her mother's death, 12-year-old Lulu has been living in a run-down SUV with her younger sister, Serena, and their devastated father. Montana is a far cry from their familiar Texas, but they've made it work, setting up camp in an RV park, spending days at school and work, and sleeping in the car at night. Dad promises better days ahead, but their precarious existence is upended when, one day, he fails to return home. An increasingly anxious Lulu carries on as usual, fearing sibling separation if anyone finds out. Waiting for her father's return, she dodges questions and cares for Serena while navigating middle school and increasingly suspicious (but kind) townspeople. Fox's moving story is told in flashes of the "Now," "Before," and "Way Before," slowly and affectingly filling in the family's history, as well as a detailed explanation of their situation. A reassuring but realistic ending encourages readers to ask for help when needed and emphasizes that there is always someone who will care. A compassionate and empathetic examination of being unhoused.

Twelve-year-old Lulu must care for her little sister when they are left homeless and alone. The girls' father disappears one morning from the Chevy Suburban in which he, Lulu, and Selena live. They've been in an RV park in Montana since driving up from Texas, where the girls' mother died after a devastating, financially ruinous illness. For two weeks, Lulu manages to keep up the routine (food bank, laundromat, and picking up Selena from her after-school program), fending off queries about her dad. The narrative focus stays tightly with Lulu's point of view, her understanding of the world informing her decisions. She's afraid to ask for help, believing that she and Selena will be separated if anyone finds out about their situation. Lulu, the target of the contempt of some classmates, is befriended by both Jack, a boy who persuades her to try out for the school musical, and the town librarian, who unwittingly provides a refuge. Fox offers a message via Jack when he learns about Lulu's life: "No one should have to live in a car." Cranes--paper ones that Lulu and Selena fold, inspired by both the story of Hiroshima survivor Sadako Sasaki and the sandhill cranes migration--represent wishes granted and a kind of grace, leading to a satisfying, redemptive conclusion nicely pitched to a young audience. All the characters seem to be White. Sobering and convincing. (author's note) (Fiction. 8-11) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.