He wants for his parents to share with him their struggles which, if one may think, is so mature for his age. Jackson’s sincere love for his family, especially to his sister, is very imminent in the story.

Crenshaw is back because Jackson needs him again. This time, has Crenshaw returned to help him again? Or is he just losing his mind and imagining things? He wants Crenshaw to go away because he hates it when he doubts his own self but he needs to mean it when he says so. Crenshaw appeared as a friend who provided distraction to him during those trying times. Crenshaw, the name he gave to the cat, first appeared when he was 5 years old during the time that they first lived in their minivan for a couple of months due to financial reasons. Jackson is a smart boy who always rely on facts and so when he begins seeing a a giant cat, he’s not sure what to think. Those uncertainties weighs so hard on him and he wants his parents to be aware of it but he’s having this dilemma of telling it to them.Īside from his problems at home, he also has to deal with his problem of whether this giant cat that appears every now and then is just a product of his imagination or not. Jackson began thinking that there’s a possibility that he won’t be going to school next year and a possibility that he won’t be again seeing his only friend, Marisol, whom he shares the same dreams of becoming a scientist someday. The possibility of becoming homeless became apparent when his parents started telling him and his sister to sort that things they want to keep and those that they no longer need for a yard sale. His mother who once was a music teacher, now juggles three part-time jobs to make ends meet after her former job got dissolved. His father who once worked as a construction worker now spends most of his time at home doing part time jobs after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Jackson wants them to understand that he understands their situation and that there’s no needs for his parents to deny him of the facts about their financial situation that he should know. He wants the people around him to realize that he wants to know the reality behind their situation. It has been years since they became homeless and now that they’re facing eviction again, he wants to be the son that his parents could lean upon and not the baby boy whom they are afraid to tell the truth from. Crenshaw is a not-the-usual middle grade story that follows the story of Jackson as he and his family try to avoid homelessness.ĩ-year-old Jackson lives in a household where the fear of being evicted at the house that they rent and hunger is something that you should get used to.

Brave books crenshaw