2/5
(not spoiler free)
After their father dies of covid, the two brothers Van Gogh and Wolfgang decide to run away because they don't want to be in the foster system. The book focuses on their trip to New York, as they plan to find their mother who left them when they were kids, in the hope of her taking them in.

It is set in our current time, as in during the pandemic. A choice, that was honestly a bad idea. The whole pandemic situation was handled horribly: At the beginning, the father refuses to wear masks and social distance, resulting in him contractong the virus and his son once even yells at him to follow the measures. THe son seems to forget he ever said this when he knows he has covid, as he just continues to use public transport and puts everyone around him at risk. In the train the guy who checked their tickets KNEW he had covid and it is his job to remove them from the train yet he chooses to let them stay and infect everyone?

Also the main character learns he had covid a while back and he said he doesn't care uh...

The realtionship between the two brothers was nice and I also thought the writing style was okay, but it didn't really stick out and it wasn't anything extraordinary. I didn't hate those aspects, but they weren't really well done either. THere was a tiny amount of backstory which didn't really add anything or made me as a reader feel anything. Honestly if the whole pandemic would've been left out it would've been a lot better. The author felt the need to mention masks every second paragraph, which could've been a really good message like wear your masks and follow the measures, but it was ruined by the fact that the brothers continued to put everyone around them at risk and apparently didn't care for anyones but their own safety.

All in all the book was just okay, at least for me there's no other way to describe it.

The plot of this stpory was ok but i didn't like the way the pandemic was handled in this book. I didnt realise this would included COVID-19

My partner is a healthcare worker so when the dada never wore a mask or socially dinstanced and considered the pandemic fake i was rather annoyed.

This book was just a no for me.

The basic plot of this story was fine, though a bit absurd at times. It is appropriate for younger readers and Wolfgang and Van Gogh's brotherly relationship was nice.

However, I really did not love the way the pandemic was handled. It is made to seem as if the two were very concerned and careful regarding the pandemic but then their every action says otherwise. Their actions put every single person on that train at risk. Every single person they interacted with. They did have a choice, but they chose to knowingly expose others to a deadly virus in order to continue their quest to (maybe) find their mother.

I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, it was not for me. The boys were careless and reckless, putting everyone around them in danger, despite making it seem as if they cared about the pandemic. Additionally, their father's racism felt like it was mentioned offhandedly and then brushed off, which was odd.

Honestly, this book would have been better if the entire pandemic had been excluded. At the most basic level, their traveling during a pandemic was reckless and selfish. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it really added to the story at all, and I imagine the rest of the story would have been stronger if not for the coronavirus plot elements.

Two brothers , Van Gogh (16) and Wolfgang (14), find their father dead from Covid. Having no one else near them and fearing being separated in foster care, they set off for NYC to find their mother. The brothers must keep a low profile in fear of being found and put into the system.
Opinion
I think this book is very symbolic of current times. It shows how we all currently live and in future years, I’m sure people will read it and wonder what we actually went through.
This book will be a great addition to school and classroom libraries.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC of this book.

This was a solid read, I greatly enjoyed it! It's very interesting to see COVID-19 in books as well. Breathe Deep & Swim left me heartbroken, but it also made me optimistic. This novel taught me that sometimes all you need to do is go with the flow. Overall, this was a sweet book with a lovely message!

This book has lots of good things going for it. The brother relationship, relevant to kids' lives, current, a bit of a mystery. I think that the target age group will find this book to be really engaging.

However, I found the dialogue to be unrealistic for the ages of the characters and the references to literary fiction will be completely over the heads of most young people reading this book. I think these two issues really narrows who will hold interest in the story.

That being said, I think this is a book worth introducing to young people. My rating is a 3.75, rounded up to 4.

**Actually a 3.5-rating**

Nearly a year has passed from Covid, and we are now in the throes of global vaccine inoculations... and I find it odd that I have yet to come across an honest, raw and sometimes macabre insight into what this Covid-19 scenario feels like when it is displayed in book form.

Typically, I read Romance genre, so they utilize the safety of "The Lockdown" in such a way of fulfilling the good tropey awesomeness of "forced proximity", meshing our love interest couple to quarantine together and somehow find love.

Yeah, this is not that book... with a cutesy, good-hearted feeling of:: "We are gonna make it out of this...together".

I did not realize how Covid-19 deaths at home with no formal, professional healthcare... especially from mask deniers and Trump supporters would have this... odd Zombie Apocalypse-sensation that just bleeds right onto the page.

This is not a sweet, tenderhearted book, by any means. It really punches you right in the gut right away. Though it is short, in novella form, this can maybe be a good thing because of the content's topic.

What a harrowing real-to-life moment, displayed in under 200pages, of two brothers trying to safely make it through their world after their father passes at home from Covid complications that he thought were "just the flu/cold". Their father denied his own failings, thereby bringing on and advancing his own demise. No one to blame but himself. Though his boys...his own biological sons, whom he never felt were quite like "HIS BOYS" when he was alive... take it upon themselves to simply gather what they can pack in one single backpack for each and walk away.

We have two boys... Van Gogh Vincent Thomas, who is an artist and does not live at home; he actually left home prior to the book's opening. And then there is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Thomas, who really lives his life by the framework of a classic literature novel; so, he is a bookworm nerd, throwing Classic Lit knowledge every which way.

Their father wanted "man-ly" men for his sons... not these kind of sensitized, feminine-light boys. And this seemed very sad and painful, especially as this man lays in the throes of his own death and cannot seems to grasp he is about to be swept off this mortal coil.

Their fears? If they had called emergency officials, actually had had the police arrive to take care of the situation, right away they knew that they would have been fostered into the system and possibly split up. Van, or Van Gogh, the older brother at 16 has the common sense and wherewithal to do everything possible to keep them together.

Their new construct of a mission? Find their mother, who left them for mysterious reasons years ago. By any means necessary, they would find her at any cost.

By no means is this an easy story even without the heightened risk of Covid-19 in the midst. If their father had passed from a heart attack, the same situation would have occurred--The boys running away to escape a scary unknowable outcome. You have it barreled into the COVID-19 pandemic and...you almost understand why the boys bolted toward an unwanted road-trip to family members they only "knew of" on the periphery. Family they had no idea if they would or would not be there; they really can only try and locate them, however possible.

Since this is a shorter novella form, Jenna Marcus packs tiny minute gut-punches that keep you knowing full well these boys have some kind of gumption to not only stay as family but to make it out alive... amidst Covid fears building around the country. It never feels like too much or too little; sometimes I think it hits right-on-the-money, but because this is genuinely my very first Covid-19 enriched story... man, this feels kind of the way it might simply have to be.

Those first outliers are gonna feel weird, because every life journey... every personal account... every medical experience inside of a hospital or care system is going to be different. Not just inside of a country but inside of a WORLD WIDE global moment. Covid stories from the United States, over the next 10-15yrs are going to feel... out-of-this-world impossible, but you know what? I learned through this simple novella that I am kind of here for a reckoning where we have to face our fears and those oh-so-scary moments we never imagined we survive.

Jenna Marcus has a soft, gentle touch to her brothers which I loved. Though sometimes their moments felt right out of a Hollywood movie script... there is a gas station robbery that switches the game for the brothers almost instantly... but yet, it puts THEM leaving their father in a certain context of morality.

Sure, they left their father's dead body alone at the house only to be found by their father's employees at the construction sight who were worried the Boss had not shown up. But placed inside of a nutshell... of COVID fears, foster-care system fears, being ripped apart fears, making sure they still had family fears... and then Van becomes THE HERO of the moment and not just saves the gas station attendant life, Wolfgang's life, but also... stopped a serial robber/thief??...it changes the narrative once thought.

I kind of like that idea. That in one moment of morality... you bail on a dead father, but in light of a single moment of heroism...you save, like, 3 lives... have confiscated stolen money [and etc.] returned from prior robberies that day and then you stop this thief from pursuing more criminal activities. Talk about seeing dichotomies in a character.

There is a sub-plot involving learning about the boys' absent mother... that I found this kind of mirrors them in this present time--especially when you learn the real reason for their mother leaving them. Also, that sub-plot gets a little lost for a minute or two but, it kind of shows us... when the pandemic hit, WE ALL checked in with each other... probably reaching out to touchstones we had not spoken to in years. This is a fraction of what has happened in real life, but it could happen.

Having their mother's precious Keepsake box with them, as one of those important "things" they grabbed when leaving home? This helps them unravel the mystery behind their mother...but also helps them in their future prospects come the end of the book. Those moments were especially sentimental and fascinating to read.

There is some rushed attempts at the end of this book, but yeah... because of it being centered around Covid, you really do not want to choose to be here [in this space] for too long. We are still in its clutches, so, yeah...still "fresh" on our minds. Maybe if this were written 5yrs from now, it could be fleshed out. But for what it is in this moment...it's right where it needs to be.

If I go into too much detailed bits about the ending I would give much of the story away...but this is a heartfelt, deeply moving exploration of snapshot moments in a pandemic, so, at times it is not easy to swallow...but, at some point in the next generation, we are going to have to face what scared us most...and yeah, that means our own mortality.

I would want to assume Jenna Marcus wants us to focus more on how beautiful this brotherhood relationship is. There are some very minute but profound focuses on how close they are and how each uplifts and tries to "take care of" the other so that they don't fall or fail or become weaker.

I like that powerful message...I think the lockdown and the pandemic taught us just how small our circles of friends and family are. It caused us to think about our pasts - those who left and were forgotten... and try to think of our futures, if we even fathomed we would have one.

This is a sliver of life book, during a deadly pandemic but it stays truer to the want of keeping those you care about closer than ever. If Covid gave any of us, anything important... it forced us to learn or relearn what true genuine "family" means to us all.

I received this e-Arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When reading this book, I was amused with the choice of names for each of the characters, (brothers Van Gogh Vincent Thomas, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Thomas. They give it a sense of originality and the presence of literature as well as art throughout it are fun to more well-read readers as well as fans of art.

The pokes at each of the books mentioned in the story are funny and will bring a smile to your face, and the use of literature to get a message across, or to better know a person. (In this case the mom of the Wolfgang.)The presence of literature and the arts were highlighted, but weren’t outwardly pushed onto the readers. The protagonist relates to readers, simply, because he is one.

The book was exceptionally well edited, though there was one question I had to the author. When looking at the description of Janelle, you write “golden eyes, which matched the flecks of gold in her hair.” To me, this seemed off, since realistically, you can’t have golden flecks in your hair and this description is more often used to describe a person’s eyes . I’m not sure what the intention of the author was in this context, but some clarification would be useful.

The book itself was a comfort read that was relatable to everyone experiencing this pandemic. While I haven’t seen much of these types of books, I suspect there will be many more.

Other than that, the book is a classic when it comes to the path of self discovery, and the themes of family that it expresses are heartwarming and raw. The emotions that this book makes you feel because of the situations that they are put in, as well as how much each of us can relate to them. It deals with loss, love, and how a family desperately try to stay together.

Overall this book was a thoughtful read, bringing aspects out of humanity’s character, (Van Gogh, the brother of the protagonist, demanding that they go to New York and face their mother head on since its harder to say no to a person if they’re there, rather than just some names on a paper or voice.) It was a book meant for lifting spirits and while there are some lows, the highs make up for it. All in all, a good read that will make your day.

This book took me on a ride! Finished this in one sitting just to know what would happen to the brothers, and had me hoping they'll finally see their mom.

I like how it was written, the characters are engaging and as mentioned, they make you want to root for them. I love how there are references to some classic books, which give clues on what could be waiting for them. However, some of them I feel like really weren't used fully - in a way that it didn't close the loop on some story.

It also touched on the importance of masks, and how real the pandemic is.

Overall this was very entertaining. I came in blind (didn't read the plot) and all the while there's this part of me trying to figure out if this is a thriller or horror. lol.

It turned out to be quite emotional for me. This naturally happens when I read about broken families and neglectful parents.

I feel so bad and protective towards the teen characters who just became orphans at the beginning of the story.

They do not know the reason why their mother left them. They have no emotions towards their problematic father.

Wolfgang and his older brother, Van Gogh, try to run away before the authorities discover their dad's dead body for the fear of getting separated and put in foster homes. They are trying to find their mum as the last chance of being together.

And the run continues.

This story made me quite anxious and uncomfortable regarding the way things turned out leaving the vulnerable teens in various life-threatening conditions. Especially because the teens took matters into their own hands endangering their own lives.

Regarding the writing, it's thoroughly engaging. The characters are developed well and good. They act thier age but then the adult characters seem to be merely present throughout whatsoever.

The plot needed to be more convincing for me. It involves some mystery to solve in two books left behind by their mother. This part becomes really interesting as the story goes on.

I really like the fact that Wolfgang is an avid reader already. I love how he love his books and look forward to reading than do anything else.

I really enjoyed reading this one. I was praying for the safety of the characters. They are so adorable.

The ending is so sad. But it ended on a hopeful note.

Trigger warnings for loss of family members.

Looking forward to more books by the author.

Thank you author and the publisher for the advance reading copy.