Dinner at the Brake Fast: A Heartfelt Middle Grade Story About Family, Depression, and Love for Children (Ages 8-12)

Dinner at the Brake Fast is a hilarious and heartfelt story about road-trip mishaps, a murderous rooster, facing down anxieties, and unexpected friendship that is a must-pick for readers who loved The Science of Unbreakable Things and The First Rule of Punk.

Tacoma Jones loves working at her family’s roadside diner, the Brake Fast, pouring coffee and serving eggs and muffins to truckers all day long. But tonight, she is finally going to break out her collection of cookbooks and prepare the best dinner the state of Washington has ever seen.

But her excitement is dampened when she learns that today is one of Dad’s bad days, when his depression makes it hard for him to get out of bed.

Tacoma knows she can’t fix her dad’s depression. But what she can do is steal back his prized photograph of his second-best day from her nemesis, the nasty Crocodile Kyle―while also planning a dinner that is sure to brighten up his bad day.

She just might need an accomplice or two to pull off the heist. . . . 

• An Unlikely Friendship: Tacoma's heist plan gets a lot more complicated―and fun―when a stranded tour-bus kid named Denver Cass decides to tag along.
• A Heartfelt Family Story: A gentle and honest look at parental depression, as Tacoma tries to find a way to bring a little light back into her dad's "bad day."
• Enemies to Allies: To get the photo back, Tacoma has to team up with her school nemesis, Hudgie Wilson―who just happens to be the villain's nephew.
• Quirky Small-Town Shenanigans: Featuring a hilarious cast of characters, a breakfast-only diner, a truly murderous rooster, and a heist to reclaim a stolen photograph of Dad with Bruce Springsteen.

Renee Beauregard Lute is the author of The Exceptional Maggie Chowder. She lives in a blue house outside of Seattle with her husband, three young children, two cats, and one cockapoo. Renee writes a lot, reads a lot, and loves exploring Washington State, which is just about her favorite place (next to Disneyland). You can find her making weird faces at her laptop in various coffee shops. Visit her online at reneebeauregardlute.com.