The Flying Troutmans, Miriam Toews

This is essentially a "road-trip" book, one we hope never happens, to us. The main character, Hattie, is living in Paris, she gets a call that her sister is institutionalized, again. The call comes from her niece, 11, who along with her 15 year old brother, have no adults around, and they need help. Things are dire, and Hattie has no maternal instincts, what so ever. She hatches a plan to find the kids father, who left years ago, unable to cope with the sister's mental illness. Her hope is the father will step up to the plate and take the kids off her hands. Their trip takes them from home, Manitoba, to South Dakota, to Flagstaff, to 29 Palms, to the border lands of the U.S. and Mexico. It's quite a trip, and you'll be glad you went along for the ride.