In the Space Left Behind

Playwright Ackermann makes a sparkling debut with this sophisticated adventure, starring the morally upright, startlingly mature Colm Drucker. Fifteen-year-old Colm has been the man of the house ever since his father, a chronic gambler, abandoned the family years ago. Now that his mother has remarried and gone off on a Las Vegas honeymoon, Colm looks forward to having a week to himself at home, but nothing goes as planned. A series of seemingly unrelated incidents—including the sudden death of Colm’s dog and a traffic mishap that lands a neighbor in the hospital—leads to Colm’s unexpected reunion with his estranged father, Lloyd Henry Drucker. Lloyd Henry offers his son “seventy grand,” as he puts it, to accompany him on a road trip and, in an uncharacteristically impulsive move, Colm accepts. Pitting straight-laced Colm against his roguish father during their cross-country journey in a borrowed Ford Explorer, Ackermann paves the way for some hilarious and tender scenes. Father and son prove equally endearing, and readers will find themselves frequently switching loyalties, hoping that Colm will warm up to his father and that Lloyd Henry will find a way to make up for the pain he’s caused his family. Packed with surprising turns of events, this skillfully crafted novel offers a new twist on father/son rituals. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)