[Atria Books, $16.00; available Aug. 2]

Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It's just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong?

Josie and her husband have split up, she's been sued by a former patient and lost her dental practice, and she's grieving the death of a young man senselessly killed. When her ex asks to take the children to meet his new fiancee's family, Josie makes a run for it, figuring Alaska is about as far as she can get without a passport. Josie and her kids, Paul and Ana, rent a rattling old RV named the Chateau, and at first their trip feels like a vacation: They see bears and bison, they eat hot dogs cooked on a bonfire, and they spend nights parked along icy cold rivers in dark forests. But as they drive, pushed north by the ubiquitous wildfires, Josie is chased by enemies both real and imagined, past mistakes pursuing her tiny family, even to the very edge of civilization.

Victor Starspeeder is psyched to be starting school at the Jedi Academy, but his sister Christina is horrified that her annoying baby brother will be there to cramp her style. While Victor means well, his excess energy leads him to spend a lot of time in detention with the little green sage, Yoda. Yoda wants to channel Victor's talents, so he makes the young Padawan join the drama club. Victor will have to make new friends, get on his sister's good side, learn to use the force, and hope the year's drama club performance goes off without a hitch!

Kate DiCamillo meets Lemony Snicket in this darkly comic novel about two sisters who learn they are each others' most important friend.