Speed of Life by J.M. Kelly

Stubborn, hard working high school seniors Crystal and Amber know what it’s like to make sacrifices. They have done without their whole lives, since their gambling addicted mom spends her paycheck on lottery tickets instead of groceries and their lazy stepdad spends more time passed out on the couch than he does working his pizza joint job. So when one sister accidently gets pregnant, they know that they have no one to turn to but each other. When Natalie is born, the sisters swear to stick together and raise her no matter what. They manage to stay in school by using the services of the school run daycare, while Crystal pumps gas and works on cars at the local garage and Amber washes dishes at their aunt’s bar. It’s hard but they’re making it work until Crystal’s head is turned by a guidance counselor who suggests she apply to a vocational college in another state with a special car restoration program. At first, Crystal scoffs at the idea. After all, “People like me work at gas stations their whole lives, go to cruise-ins with their cars and join softball leagues for fun.” But then she decides to apply just to see what happens, and to her great shock, gets in. Now she has to choose between staying in Portland with her sister and helping with Natalie or following her college dreams to Kansas. As the day of her final decision draws closer, Crystal struggles to justify her choice and to keep hidden a devastating secret that could destroy her relationship with Amber and Natalie forever. This solidly written, utterly realistic novel that details the day-to-day life of one working class white family on the brink of change is full of piss, vinegar and heart. There are so many engrossing particulars that pulled me in as a reader that are worth mentioning, but among my favorites were how Crystal had to use her junkyard dog Bonehead as a poor woman’s alarm system and let him sleep in her muscle car each night so it wouldn’t get stolen, and how Crystal and Amber hid their mom’s lottery winnings in small bills throughout the house so she wouldn’t spend it all at once. This family and their all-too-real problems stole my heart—and it will steal yours to when it comes to a library, bookstore or e-reader near you October 2016.