Just Do This One Thing for Me

by Laura Zimmermann

Hilarious, heartbreaking, and sneaky suspenseful, Just Do This One Thing for Me is a timely novel about a rule-following daughter trying to hold her family together after her scammer mother disappears.

“Just do this one thing for me.” Drew's mother says it more often than good morning. Heidi Hill has been juggling shady side hustles for all of Drew’s seventeen years, and Drew knows that “one thing” really means all the necessary things her mother thinks are boring, including taking care of her fifteen-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother. In fact, Drew is the closest thing to a responsible adult they’ve ever known. When their mother disappears on the way to a New Year’s Eve concert in Mexico and her schemes start unraveling, Drew is faced with a Follow the rules, do the responsible thing, and walk away--alone--from her mother's mess. Or hope the weather stays cold, keep the cons going, and just maybe hold her family together.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Thriller, Audiobook, Humor

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 2023

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hilarious and tender YA story about a neglectful mother and Drew, her eldest daughter who is left trying to hold the family together when their scammer mother turns up dead.

The IRS is knocking on their door constantly trying to hold her mother accountable for all the tax evasion and fraud she's committed, meanwhile Drew is trying to get her college applications done, make her needy boyfriend happy, keep her younger siblings fed and out of trouble AND on top of everything she keeps getting visits from her dead mother's ghost.

Highly original, fast-paced and full of heart, this was a surprise delight and one heck of an entertaining read! VERY much recommended and great on audio too read by Jennifer Jill Araya. Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!!

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

How can two teenage sisters and their eight-year-old brother stay together when their mother doesn't return from her trip to Mexico? If you like dark humor or sibling stories, give this story about senior Drew and her two younger siblings a try. She will do almost anything to keep the three of them together. Lying to a nosy detective is only the start.

[Aparna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warm, hilarious, heartbreaking.

[Jonathan (Jon) · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙃𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨, 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚-𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨.

I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into when I grabbed this book from NetGalley. I totally wanted to read it because the cover was unique and made me want to see what this story was about.

It was such a fun read, but I don’t think I was ever fully engaged. I kept rolling my eyes at times with the characters. I get this is a YA book, but it felt so juvenile to me.

The book gave me huge Finlay Donovan vibes, which was a book I surprisingly didn’t enjoy at all. I wish I had prepared myself beforehand but unfortunately didn’t. It’s not that this wasn’t a great book, it just wasn’t what I was expecting.

The story does have a strong portrayal of a sibling relationship. It was quick and silly in its own way, but I can definitely see what the author was doing with it.

It’s not your typical kind of thriller, it felt more like a mystery - maybe?! I did find myself laughing a few times, but again, I never felt like I was completely invested in the story.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the review eARC and PRH Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this. I laughed all the way through. It hits that pitch-perfect balance of super dark and sad and also fucking hilarious, which will very much appeal to a certain set of Gen Z/Gen Alpha readers. It's a quick read, but every character has a lot of depth and vitality. My only issue is with the uneven and, imo, unnecessary application of the "ghost" characters that talk to Drew. They didn't meld with the rest of the story and weren't really needed. Otherwise this was basically the perfect YA book to me; it doesn't talk down to its audience, but it also doesn't get mired in tragedy or melodrama. Drew and Carna are very much teenagers, but they aren't characterized as either babies or heroes. It's just really, really good.

[Natalie M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny in a sad way - YA with a bucket-load of merit!

Devastating, disadvantaged and downright atrocious parenting, but Drew is an unbelievable character that shows you can overcome such a terrible childhood. Definitely a read for YA who feel life is unfair because this family deals with that sh*# in a life-affirming, get on with it way.

Difficult to read at times because honestly this is one messed up family, but Drew is such an awesome female character all I wanted to do is keep reading to see how she was going to keep her family together.

The humour makes this read!

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no clue what I was getting into with this book and it blew me away. I would have devoured this as a teen and been fully obsessed. This dark, witty, and heartfelt book really worked for me!

[Julia Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprise. Like a wintry, teenaged Weekend at Bernies.

[Melinda Fenton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a drag.

[Colleen Giuffrida · Rating 3 out of 5]

This YA novel’s cover and summary completely intrigued me, to the point where I knew I had to read it. Three kids, a neglectful mother, and nothing but problems heading their way. It was hard to feel believable because of the calmness of the kids throughout the book through the intensity of the situations, but it was an enjoyable read.

[hannah! · Rating 2 out of 5]

um well this was a shitshow. both plotwise and like writing wise. there was like major errors almost every chapter and at one point a couple of pages just weren't even there??? idk it was weird and the plot was even more weird. def kept me on the edge of my seat, but not in a good way guys!

[Sam Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly good teen mystery coming of age vibe. I get stressed reading about kids so utterly let down by every adult and system around them. But I do love a convenient con based ending.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the weirdness of this.

It was tense and sad, and complicated.

[Annalise Kraines · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tongue in cheek, irreverent dark comedy that centers on the love of siblings and that definitely scandalized my grandma when I was telling her about it. Drew is the consummate eldest daughter and her journey of de-parentifying herself really hit home. Even though that journey happened a lil more quickly than is realistic, this was important to read. Also Lock was cute and hilarious

[Martina · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Shameless and Finlay Donovan had a YA baby, this would be it.

Let me just start by saying if you don’t like dark humor then this is not the book for you.
It’s hard for me to review this without spoilers. So I won’t tell you much.

I went into this book completely blind and boy was I in for a surprise. This book really surprised me in the best way.
I laughed, cried and got angry with the characters many times.
This story is heavy. Yet somehow it was still beautiful. Beautifully broken.

I really loved this one and I can’t recommend it enough.

[Katherine Van Halst · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very engaging and I did enjoy reading it, but I had a couple of issues with it.
The first is that when the two teenagers find their dead mother frozen in the shed outside, they are entirely too calm about it, and continue to do almost absolutely no grieving. They had both been parentalized, but that would affect even the most mature kid-- and they prove plenty of times over later that they are still just kids. The other problem was that as parentalized as main character Drew is, by the end of the book nothing changes. No one ever tells this poor girl that her younger siblings aren't her responsibility, that she's barely 18 and shouldn't have to take care of anyone besides herself. Instead, at the end she is going to college while raising a teenager and an 8 year old. Instead of learning how to balance and take care of herself, she learns nothing, and just gets her difficult mother out of the way so she can be the mother instead.
Instead of this book I recommend Odessa by Jonathan Hill, Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle, All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir, and She's Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

YA book written by a Minnesota author. It was pretty slow getting started and I’m not sure it is realistic but the ending was great. Unfortunately, not appropriate for middle school. Too many controversial events that I couldn’t justify to parents.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up.

A really great YA black comedy about a 17-year-old trying to keep her younger siblings together after the untimely demise of their flighty scammer mother. There's a lot to love about this book, including (but not limited to) the wacky story, the suffocating atmosphere reflecting the intense pressure they're under, and Drew's young yet strong voice. Drew is a good kid backed into a really, really difficult situation and even though her reactions are a little bonkers at times, they make sense in context. I understand where some might have issues with this book: it reads a little long at times, the hallucinations are a bit strange, and I think it could be funnier - but I'm willing to overlook all of this because I love darkly humorous books like this. Recommended.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA contemporary. Foul language found throughout. Told in first person by 17year old Drew Hill, who is a responsible caretaker for her 15 and 8 year old siblings because her single mom is totally irresponsible. Mom works a series of cons and hustles rather than going to work at a paying job. When she disappears, Drew is left to hold the pieces of the family together. Reminds me of a Finlay Donovan book but for young adults. A bit unbelievable but there are some darkly humorous parts.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up because it is good, I enjoyed it, but there were aspects that just really felt unnecessary or like strings left unwoven.
More funny than sad with some dark humor, but really just a book about a girl trying to protect her siblings but getting in over her head from the lies.

100% wouldn't call this a mystery. Mostly just a contemporary.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of the book was good, but I think the book goes on a little bit longer than needed and some of the instances are not believable given the circumstances of the characters. I think something good about this book is that it show the resilience of the human spirit and how much the connection with family matters in the end.

[Katherine Bichler · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 STARS

Genre: YA contemporary/mystery

Similar Books:
Finlay Donovan Series

Synopsis:
Teenage Drew has always been responsible while her mother has been a scammer living off stolen money trying to raise her. When her mother Heidi goes missing in Mexico, Drew tries to find out what happened to her and dig herself out of the scammer hole.

I went into this book blind. The cover doesn’t really give you any sort of clue as to what it will be like. It is a dark, humorous teenage mystery. Without spoiling it, the MC tries to sift through her mother’s years of scamming while she is missing leaving her children to fend for themselves. I appreciated the dark humor and enjoyed it! I wouldn’t really call it a thriller so much as a mystery/dark contemporary book. It is fun and the concept was fresh.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the ARC! ❤️

[Dramapuppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was hovering around three stars for most of its duration, but the ending bumped it up. Everything ties together in a really satisfying way, and more importantly, it is so sweet! It doesn’t gloss over how challenging the children’s lives are going to be, but they get to stay together and get an unlikely happy ending after so much stress. I love that.

[Amity · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much funnier than the subject matter would lead you to believe. I quite like Drew's voice and the strong sibling bonds brought this particular only child to tears by the end. 4 faulty product reviews out of 5.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book of the year! Drew’s voice is so dryly funny it set me off over and over again. I can’t get over the reviews interspersed in the text giving it all an over the top feel. Serious “Shameless” vibes made me guffaw on more than one occasion. I loved the fierce protectiveness of the siblings and the insane plan they pulled off together. Amazing! 😂

[Cecina Babich Morrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun YA plane read, but really pushed the edges of my credulity (cremation dude is Wild)

[Calvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly encapsulated the exhaustion of being the older sibling stuck with the job of being a parent. There's also murder. Epic.

[Catherine Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun winter read! Not the most realistic and I don’t care at all about that because I enjoyed it

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review over at @reading_rants_redux on Instagram.

[Serena Qiao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book!