The Decomposition of Jack

Middle school is always hard, but when you’re known as the Roadkill Kid, well, it’s even harder. Jack’s mom collects roadkill—it’s her job, and she’s very good at it. Ever since Jack’s mom and dad got divorced, Jack has stepped into the role of Mom’s co-scientist.

One day while tending to the roadkill garden, Jack believes he spots a cougar in the wilderness beyond his backyard. A cougar in Tennessee? They’re supposed to be extinct. So, when Jack has to choose an animal to research for his Earth Science class, he picks cougar.

As pressure mounts on Jack to complete his project and to be Mom’s business partner, the mystery of the cougar feels too big to solve. Jack knows what the decomposition of an animal—and a family—looks like, so can he figure out how to bring them back to life?

• STEM for Kids: Jack may be the "Roadkill Kid," but he uses real scientific observation to track a mysterious cougar for his Earth Science project.
• Quirky Humor: Laugh-out-loud moments abound when your mom’s job is collecting roadkill and your backyard is a "Roadkill Garden" full of her experiments.
• Environmental Themes: A thought-provoking look at conservation and what happens when an animal believed to be extinct suddenly reappears in the Tennessee hills.
• Heartfelt Family Story: Navigates the messy, confusing, and sometimes funny decomposition of a family after divorce, and the hard work of putting the pieces back together.