Bug Hollow by Michelle Huneven

When teenage Ellis Samuelson decides to just up and stay in Bug Hollow one summer, the events that unfold will affect him and his family forever. Spanning the 70s through contemporary times, Huneven gives the Samuelson family story a touching and simultaneously vivacious arc. The smallest moments of tenderness and joy permeate practically everything, including a deeply touching deathbed scene. The family packs into the old beatup sedan to rescue one of their own and have the battle scars to prove it. Through it all they share life’s vicissitudes, accommodating each person’s foibles as they go. Profound and simultaneously propulsive.