Mr. and Mrs. Coogan in Crash

Mr. and Mrs. Coogan

Crash's parents are workaholics who never make it to Crash's football games. Crash tells us his dear old dad is "just starting up his own business, and he had to work seventy-hour weeks just to get it off the ground" (7.5). Mrs. Coogan, who works in real estate, is in school and has a demanding job, so she's pretty busy, too.

It's hard on the kids, but at the end of the novel, Mrs. Coogan makes a surprise announcement: she's cutting back on her work hours. After Scooter's stroke, her priorities shifted, and she wants to spend more time at home with her family.