Eat and Get Gas

Thirteen-year-old Evan Hanson is always the last in her family to know what’s going on—at least, that’s how it feels. Her father, Gene, who’s been meaner since he began serving in Vietnam, isn’t around much, and she likes it better that way. But then her brother, Adam, gets drafted and her anti-war mother, Endura, takes him across the border to Canada, leaving Evan alone with Gene and her younger, special needs brother, Teddy.

When he realizes Endura isn’t returning, Gene takes Evan and Teddy to Eat and Get Gas, his mother’s café and gas station in Hoquiam, Washington. There, as well as her no-nonsense but loving grandma, Evan encounters Aunt Vivian, a teasing but caring know-it-all; Uncle Frankie, injured in Vietnam and suffering from PTSD; Paco, the draft dodger Frankie is hiding; Hal and Hubert, the strange but gentle next-door neighbors who play the piano like virtuosos and help out when they’re needed; and Louanne, Frankie’s reserved, sensitive sister. She is drawn in particular to Louanne, who was disfigured by a car accident that killed the rest of her and Frankie’s family.

At Eat and Get Gas, Evan finds a new freedom, and she starts to carve out a place for herself by helping in the café and sorting mail for Uncle Frankie, who runs a postal route in addition to running the gas station. She eventually, too, learns some of the family secrets she’s been kept in the dark about—and comes to understand that her mother isn’t coming back any time soon.

Then, after reading a letter that wasn’t meant for her, Evan discovers the biggest secret of all.

Genre: General Fiction

"Eat and Get Gas is a compelling and affecting read that highlights experiences I haven't often seen in fiction. This masterful study of family acts as a microcosm of Vietnam War-era America and expresses extremely well the way the trauma of this war reverberates deeply and widely. The book hums with a deep sense of love, in complicated and sometimes painful situations, and describes a group of people loving each other in ways that are complicated and poignant." - Pip Adam

"Storytelling at its best, Eat And Get Gas grabs the reader from page one and doesn't let go. Daily, life confirms for Evan that people can disappoint us even when they love us. But she has three things going for her: soothing music from the pianists next door, the skating rink, and a honeybee bracelet. The unexpected twist at the end is oh-so-worth the wait!" - Laurie Buchanan

"Jodi Wright's uncanny ability to place the reader at the very center of 13-year-old Evan's head captured me, from page one. Evoking 1970's America and the long reach of the Vietnam War, Evan's confused, loyal, angry, lonely, and forgiving coming-of-age as she finds her place in the heart of a colorful cast of characters at 'Eat and Get Gas' kept me from sleep right up to the perfectly pitched ending." - Jenni Ogden

"It's 1972 and thirteen-year-old Evan has her hands full. Her old brother is a draft dodger; her mother is ill; her baby brother has a learning disability; and her father, a Vietnam vet, has another family overseas. When Evan's mother and brother head for Canada, Evan's father takes her to his family home in Hoquiam, Washington. As she waits for her mother's return, surrounded by a cast of quirky characters and damaged adults, Evan learns a new definition of family, the cost of untold secrets, and the value of her burgeoning self-esteem. A powerful story about a sad chapter in America's history that is thoroughly modern, relevant, and inspiring." - Anne Leigh Parrish