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Wry humor and sharp insight capture the distinctive voice of a young teen forced by his mothers unstable mental health to recalibrate his outlook and build a new life with found family. For fans of Gary D. Schmidt and Rebecca Stead. Quagmire Tiarello prides himself on not needing anything from anybody. Sure, his mom is skipping work again and showing signs of going into one of her full-out spins, but its nothing he cant handle. Hes used to her up-and-down moods, even if this time it feels a little different. Then his mom disappears, and Quag must find shelter with an uncle he didn't know he had. Should he come clean about his mothers mental health challenges? Or can he use his carefully honed skills to bluff long enough to find his mom and get home? Readers will root for Quag as he finds himself rethinking his world and learning to accept help from the people who love him.
Puberty is a miserable stage. For “Quagmire”, it is even worse as he needs to deal with a tumultuous mother and a morass of friendships and a first crush. The mother‘s mental state is described well and the characters are great.