"But now in this second week in a hot July, suddenly shortage wasn't the right word anymore. Shortage would mean there wasn't enough. Instead, there wasn't any. "Vincent hit the nail on the head. "'This,'" he said, "'is a crunch."' This passage accurately describes the situation that the Marrisses are in. Lil, Dewey, Vince, Angus, and Eva, the children of Mr. and Mrs. Marriss all live in this nearly dystopian reality without fuel. Living in New England, the Marrisses own a small farm off of a highway ramp near Elm City. Already living in an unimaginable future, the Marriss children's parents are stuck in Canada because of the Crunch, leaving the children alone at the house to raise two five year old twins, while also taking care of the farm and their father's business. The story details the lives of this family during this difficult time and how it forces them to undergo a lot of character development in learning how to live in a new fuel-less word. The surreal world you are thrown into in Crunch is what makes this one of my favorite books to this day.
Throughout the book we also see how the crunch affects the rest of the world. In just the first few chapters we see that highways are almost completely empty of cars with people and bikes taking its place. The fuel crunch and change in society's transportation sets up many changes and conflicts in the story. One being the new change at the Bike Barn, the family business where the new dependence on bikes as transportation causes a spike in business at the Bike Barn. Vince and Dewey are forced to run the business in its most hectic time ever without the help of their Dad. Society's dependence on biking leads to a new demand for bike parts, which in turn leads to trouble for the Marrisses and their Bike Barn later in the story.
Two themes that are consistently present in the story especially by Lil are responsibility and pride. When her parents are stranded up north, she is forced to take care of the four other children while still trying to pursue her art. Being is eighteen years old, she feels obligated as the oldest child in the family to take care of the rest and is seen as a second mom to the other children causing a lot of responsibility to fall on Lil when the crunch hits. Lil's prideful attitude causes conflict and is shown by her aversion to Dewey's help when he offers to pick her up on a bike when she has to walk home from the city and her aversion to help from others when another family offers to help them cook meals. Throughout the story Lil is forced to find a way to balance her pride with responsibility and taking care of herself and her family. This need to prove herself to her family makes her an interesting character to follow in this coming-of-age story as she learns that only with the help of her family can she pursue her artistic dreams and make it through the crunch.
This book does an incredible job of describing the strange new world of Crunch and how the characters adapt to it as well as hinting at the mystery behind the fuel shortage. Besides being well-told, the story provides incredible imagery that leaves much to imagination in passages like where Dewey bikes down a highway filled with bikes and people rather than cars. This novel is one of my personal favorites and is good for someone looking for a unique and charming book about a quite possible future.
Crunch sounds like it has an extremely interesting premise that seems all to possible, but it seems like it has a unique take on the responsibility and the new environment the characters have to face.
ReplyDeleteThis book seems nice because its setting provides a reminder to the audience that the world in Crunch could very well be the future if we don't manage non-renewable resources well. I wonder how society is coping with this crisis, probably using other sources of energy like the sun, wind, and nuclear fission. Perhaps electric cars will jump in popularity and the roads will be back to normal.
ReplyDeleteCrunch sounds very interesting because it highlights an actual problem we have in our society: our over-reliance on oil and gas. As climate change continues to escalate, our society must eventually switch away from oil and gas, but it will not be easy.
ReplyDeleteBased on your review, this book seems to portray the consequences of a sudden stop in the supply of oil and gas. However, it will also show how people may adapt and innovate to live on even without the luxury of gas-powered cars.