Missing U

She couldn't quite imagine it--being dumped in the chilly foothills of Montana's Crazy Mountains, where cell service is spotty and families work the farms! As the book opens, 12-year old Anne's vision of a perfect summer by the pool with friends implodes when her father's fist crashes through the kitchen wall. It's the Great Recession of 2008, and Anne's father has lost his job, his sobriety, and now, his temper. To pay her sister's preschool, Anne must work 100 miles west in her widowed grandfather's onion patch, a hot, stinky, sweaty job made worse by isolation. Her family doesn't call or visit, there's no internet, no cell service, and no way to get home! Even as Anne befriends her grandfather's surly dog "Spike" and farming neighbors Ozzy and Steven, her fears for her parents--and her little sister Libby-- mount.

When Anne finally reaches a sobbing Libby by phone, she tries to find a way home. Failing to get help from grownups, Anne eyes the nearby Yellowstone River. Wouldn't that get her practically to her doorstep 100 miles east? Anne pilfers a bike, inner tube, and supplies, and sets off on a page-turning three-chapter river adventure, determined to rescue her family.

Missing U, and its companion novel, Like a Brother (summer, 2025), give kids' perspectives of rural farm life and the frustration of being powerless in a sometimes chaotic adult world. The characters are complex, believable, and lovable, even when they take foolish and fruitless risks to protect their families. The books are beautifully illustrated by Jim Vernon.