Through the eyes of seventh-grade narrator Casey, readers get a clear-eyed view of what it is like to live with an alcoholic. The 13-year-old has been taking care of his father since his mother and sister moved out. When his aunt suggests an intervention, Casey begins to understand that his father's drinking problem is more than he can handle. While Wilhelm (Gunfire at Gettysburg) does not cover new territory, the characters and their interactions are often achingly realistic. The exchanges between Casey and his inconsistent father are especially convincing; he's either raging at his son or trying to buddy up with him. The author reveals silent stretches as convincing as any dialogue, as in one particularly poignant scene, when Casey's dad barbecues spare ribs after embarrassing him at a football game: "There was this intense, desperate energy he was putting out, like a force field: Don't talk about it... just make it okay." Other adult characters, from his well-intentioned but awkward aunt to an offbeat interventionist, are equally believable. And Casey's likable peers introduce flickers of humor and levity: his best friend, Oscar, and Tara, a classmate who befriends Casey and confides in him about losing her own mother to addiction. It's through Tara that Casey finally decides that, whether or not he participates in the intervention, he must find a way to tell his dad what he feels. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)
