Grounded

October 25, 2010
Klise (the 43 Old Cemetery Road series) spins an insightful story about loss and family, set in the tiny town of Digginsville, Mo., told from the plainspoken perspective of 12-year-old Daralynn Oakland. Her brother, sister, and father die in a plane crash, leaving her with her brusque mother, who refuses help or sympathy, and her senile grandmother. Her mother keeps herself busy with a new job as a hairstylist at the local funeral home, while Daralynn is stuck at home, eating frozen dinners ("After the grief casseroles tapered off, Mother lost the will to cook"), examining her life B.C. (Before the Crash) and A.D. (After the Deaths), and recording letters to her siblings and father in her Pertinent Facts & Important Information book. When the mysterious Mr. Clem opens a crematorium nearby and steals the heart of Daralynn's vivacious Aunt Josie, it poses a threat to the funeral home's business, and the town. Balancing Daralynn's family tragedy with gentle humor and an evocative late-1960s setting, Klise's writing is refreshingly matter-of-fact and studded with simple, powerful images and memorable, entertaining characters. Ages 9–13.

October 15, 2010
In 12-year-old Daralynn's world of '60s TV dinners and Perry Mason, "B.C." marks the time before the small-plane crash that killed her father, brother and sister, and "A.D." is "After the Deaths." Daralynn's mother hardens her heart after the tragedy, and her pragmatic daughter does her darndest to follow suit. The small-town–Missouri story—despite all the corpses, funerals and cremations—is not so much about death as about coping with grief. Lively, comical details, described in Daralynn's matter-of-fact first-person voice, keep the story buoyant, such as when Daralynn mistakes a girl for a boy at her mother's hair salon and gives her a Marlon Brando–inspired haircut she hastily dubs "Le Frenchie," and when she infers the town's new crematorium will be an ice-cream parlor. In the sentimental end, this salty-sweet, nut-sprinkled novel underscores the "grounding" that comes with caring for people, whether it's flashy-trashy Aunt Josie and her boardinghouse gentlemen, senile Mamaw poignantly nurturing her dolls or, most powerfully of all, Daralynn and her mother finding their way back to each other. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

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Starred review from February 1, 2011

Gr 4-7-When her father, older brother, and young sister died in a plane crash, Daralynn was at home, grounded for having been out fishing without her parents' permission. Her mother opens a beauty salon in their small Missouri town (population 402) and also prepares the hair of the deceased at the local funeral home. Clem Monroe suddenly appears on the scene, selling prepaid cremation plans to unsuspecting seniors and wooing Daralynn's Aunt Josie. She and many other residents are taken in by his schemes, giving him cash for a business that will never come to fruition. When Daralynn realizes that Clem is telling lies and acting suspiciously around town, she uses her journal to tell her father and siblings about the events, and the mystery is wrapped up in a unique way. The relationship between Daralynn and her mother, neither of whom has really dealt with her grief, is portrayed sensibly and tenderly. The fringe characters also shine; Clem is a slick con man, and Aunt Josie, free-spirited and kindhearted, understands Daralynn's prickly, hostile mother. The title of the book is serendipitous in many ways, and will leave readers with much to think about.-Alison Donnelly, Collinsville Memorial Public Library, IL

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2010
Grades 6-8 Dark humor melds with genuine pathos in Klises delightful and moving novel, set in Digginsville, Missouri, during the early 1970s. Twelve-year-old Daralynn Oakland is devastated when her father and siblings die in a plane crash. Angry and heartbroken, Daralynns mother gets a job as hairstylist at the local funeral parlor, while Daralynn comes up with the idea of a living funeral, where people can hear their own eulogy and have a chance to thank family and friends. The living funeral is a huge hit until Clem Monroe comes to town and starts a crematorium, undermining the funeral homes business. Klise loves a mystery, which the charming yet sinister Clem provides in spades. She also uses letters, newspaper articles, and journal entries to excellent effect. However, its the journey through grief and the quirky characters (such as the senile grandma who takes to feeding and burping all of Daralynns dolls) that stay with the reader. This quiet story illuminates and celebrates the human need for connection beyond the grave.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)