Before I read this book, I thought I knew from anxiety. I often feel anxious myself, and I have an anxious child, but Ava, the main character in “My Dad’s Girlfriend and Other Anxieties,” helped me realize that I have experienced only a glimmer of what Ava feels.

Like several other MG novels I’ve reviewed here, this novel provided helpful exercises between chapters to help readers identify and then handle feelings of anxiety. Three days after finishing the story, I find myself doing deep breathing exercises as outlined in the book. 

In the beginning of the story, Ava’s dad drags her  to Denver from Iowa dad to meet his girlfriend, Jenn, and Jenn’s daughter, Mackenzie, who calls herself “Z.” Z is the polar opposite of Ava: impulsive where Ava is hyper cautious, loud where Ava is tongue tied and sporty and energetic where Ava would rather play board games. 

In addition, Z’s dad (Jenn’s ex) is a famous fashion photographer on a TV show. Z can’t stop talking about him, she’s so excited to see him. This foursome has traveled to the mountains and rented a cabin at a resort where Z’s dad is based, in large part so Z can visit with him. 

It’s only ever been Ava and her dad, since her mom died shortly after giving birth, but now Ava looks at her boring old dad, with tape on his broken glasses (which broke when she tried to hide them), dorky jokes and his new girlfriend and sees that he is very uncool compared to Z’s dad.

As soon as Ava found out she had to go to Colorado for two weeks, she began researching all its dangers. From thin air and falling trees to ground squirrels infected with bubonic plague, it’s a wonder Ava leaves her house, much less gets on the airplane. 

When she can’t persuade the group to at least stay in Denver rather than go to the mountains, she sets out to sabotage the trip, and hopefully, her dad’s budding romance. While she does all this in the name of her anxiety, she very quickly loses perspective, putting glitter in her dad’s sleeping bag, cancelling a zip line outing her dad and Z were looking forward to and saying all kinds of mean and hurtful things to everyone.

There is at least one big spoiler I’m not going to reveal, so make sure to read this book so you can find out for yourself!

When she meets José, a college student and one of the resort’s staff, she finds a friendly ear and an adult who listens to her non-judgmentally. José is a very good listener, and asks lots of good questions. Many things that José tells her or suggests to her for managing her anxiety and other things are similar to things her father and others have told her, but, as is often the case, Ava hears it better coming from her friend, rather than her dad. 

Ava also meets Rodrigo, Z’s dad. He is loud and large and busy and very cool, but he has very little time and attention for Z. He says he wants to spend more time with her but he keeps letting himself get pulled away, or using their time together to invite others (often young women) to join them. Ava, who is starting to really like Z, sees how much this hurts Z and she begins to re-assess her opinion of Z’s cool dad and have new appreciation for her own dad.

What Crocker does incredibly well is show us what José calls, Ava’s “monkey brain,” where her thoughts and fears and worries boomerang all around in her brain like a pinball machine. The best line of José’s, that hits the nail (of Ava’s worries) on the head, is when he tells Ava to consider what is possible and then what is probable. For example, yes, it’s possible for a ground squirrel to get bubonic plague, bite you and kill you, but it is definitely not probable. Just this simple observation helps Ava begin to gain some healthy perspective at around the same time she realizes she likes Jenn and Z and doesn’t want to be mad anymore.

There is at least one big spoiler I’m not going to reveal, so make sure to read this book so you can find out for yourself!