Recommended by Lauren B?

Fourteen-year-old Dewey Marriss is in charge of the family's Bike Barn while Mom and Dad are away - and they're going to be away longer than planned due to a fuel shortage that's stranding everyone in place, and making bikes really popular. Suddenly Dewey and his brother Vince are flooded with bikes to fix, and Dewey is having trouble keeping up...but he suspects that parts are going missing.

Dewey is surrounded by family and friends - in addition to Vince, there's eighteen-year-old artist Lil, who is "being the parents" along with Dewey, five-year-old twins Angus and Eva, neighbors Mattie and Pop, and thief-neighbor Mr. Spivey, plus friendly Officer Runkle and new-to-the-force Office Macey. And there's Robert Deal, who Dewey meets while biking on the highway, and who comes to the Bike Barn to learn how to repair bikes. But who is the thief? And when will the Marriss parents be able to come home?

First-person narration from Dewey's POV shows the stress he is under, his determination to handle everything himself, his enjoyment of working at the Bike Barn, and his love for his family - everyone pitches in and helps without complaint. The setting is beachy and rural; the family has goats, chickens, and a garden. Skin color and race aren't mentioned; the twins get a sunburn one day, and Officer Macey has white-blond hair. ( )

Crunch goes in several directions. It is mainly a story of five brothers and sisters trying to survive at home alone when their parents (truckers) get stranded on the other side of the country when there is an (unexplained) gas crunch, which is so bad, nobody has gas to go anywhere. It is also a story of dedication to hard work. Dewey (our narrator) and his brother are determined to keep the family bike repair shop going in their dad's absence - especially since everyone is relying on bikes now. It is part crime story, as there is a wave of small thefts in town. A thief is breaking into businesses and stealing just a few things. But that is solved partway through the book with a bit left to go.
All of these things are done fairly well, but there were enough drawbacks for me that wouldn't really recommend it. The 18 year old older sister - who should be the most responsible one in the family - is worse than useless. While the two brothers work all day in the bike shop and taking care of the two youngest siblings, Lil spends all day doing artwork on the side of the barn. She doesn't help anyone with anything, but still insists she's in charge. Reading this in 2021, having gone through a year and a half of COVID nightmare - I know the portrayal of America with no gasoline is painfully wrong. This country would dissolve into anarchy if suddenly there was no gasoline anywhere, and even trucks and police couldn't travel. And finally, none of the characters were very deeply developed. They were all fairly one-dimensional, and therefore, I didn't really care about them the way I want to care about the characters in a book I read.
So three stars. In most ways a decent story, well written. But the above mentioned drawbacks kept me from loving it.
Curious note: The book is set in the near future. There is nothing at all in the story to say it isn't in the present, except the mention several times of "wheelie pods" which seem to be some sort of vehicle that can be driven without gas. I guess. ( )

A long-distance trucker and his wife are stranded several hundred miles from home, when gasoline supplies dry up. In the couple’s absence, their children must manage the family’s bicycle repair business while meeting family commitments. And this small family business is suddenly one of the only things keeping people on the roads. Video review at https://youtu.be/1_5cl1BgCGo

This story is of a boy who is quickly thrown into the driver seat of his family as his parents are stuck out of town due to a gas shortage, it is up to 14 year old Dewey Mariss to take care of his young brothers and sisters while managing his fathers bicycle shop. In addition with the gas shortage going on people are in constant need of bikes so the family business starts to take off as he must juggle his new responsibilities to his family as well as to the business.

A family’s bicycle-repair business is the only thing keeping people on the road when gas supplies dry up. Suddenly, everyone is turning to 14-year-old Dewey Marriss and his siblings for much-needed bicycle repairs.

Crunch presents a plausible alternative to auto and fuel dependence while accurately depicting challenges that accompany reduced access to long-distance travel. As a bicycle commuter and rider of public transit, the subject appealed to me. ( )