CLIFF BURKE
Awards and Honors
Reviews
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
An Occasionally Happy Family & My Not-So-Great French Escape
2025 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Nominee
My Not-So-Great French Escape
2024 New South Wales Premier's Reading Challenge
An Occasionally Happy Family
2024 Victoria Premier's Reading Challenge
My Not-So-Great French Escape
"Deftly capturing the childhood torture of family road trips, Burke nails the hilarious dialogue between Theo; his 16-year-old sister, Laura; and their science teacher dad...Each short chapter provides a glimpse of the humor and pain caused by the lack of communication and unaddressed grief that burdens each family member...With memorable characters and voices, realistic emotions, and an extra helping of humor, this title rocks...A masterful look at loss and mourning wrapped up in a hilariously painful family vacation."
"This is a good, realistic, and funny book about a family in transition...Sure to be a popular title, especially with fans of humor, road trip adventures, and James Patterson’s books."
"Detailing French cultural details with aplomb, the protagonist's observant first-person narration captures the lingering emotional effects of turbulent relationships, the feelings of remaining 'outside of the inner circle,' and his gradual acceptance of his own fate."