Bloomability

August 31, 1998
A light first-person narrative and some insightful dream flashes (taken from the protagonist's journal) convey an uprooted 13-year-old's coming of age. Domenica Santolina Doone ("It's a mouthful, so most people call me Dinnie"), whose father is always in search of "the right opportunity," has already lived in 12 different cities. With her father on the road, her older brother Crick in jail and her 16-year-old sister, Stella, giving birth, it's little surprise that Dinnie is "kidnapped" by her aunt and uncle and taken from her "little New Mexico hill town" to the American School in Lugano, Switzerland, where the pair work. Tired of always being on the move, Dinnie is determined not to get attached to her newest environment ("I won't adjust! I won't adapt! I won't! I'll rebel!"), but surrounded by other "foreigners"--students from all corners of the world--she finds it easier than she had imagined to make friends. Guthrie, a classmate, helps her see a sense of possibility, or "bloomability," and to grow from her experiences. Creech (Walk Two Moons) skims the surface of Dinnie's gradual emergence from her protective "bubble" rather than delving into Dinnie's feelings about the deeper ramifications of her family's unraveling. The author tells rather than shows the poignant moments (e.g., Dinnie has no reaction when her parents forget her on Christmas; her friend Lila's vacillating moods go unexplained), which results in a reportlike view of the school year, rather than insight into the purported change in Dinnie. Some readers wishing to glimpse an adventure abroad may think this is just the ticket; however, fans of the author's previous works will likely miss her more fully realized characters. Ages 8-12.

If you long to make the acquaintance of someone extraordinary in the most extraordinary of circumstances, Newbery-winning author Sharon Creech had best introduce you to Dinnie--Domenica Santolina Doone--who has been spirited off to an international boarding school in Lugano, Switzerland, at the age of 13. Bonnie Hurren understands Dinnie all too well, her longing for permanence in the world, her feelings of displacement in a family whose love is as abundant as its disorganization and poverty. Hurren's first-person narration captures Dinnie's no-nonsense attitude with its deep underlying desire for some other life. Additionally, as a welcome respite from Dinnie's earnestness, Hurren delivers a fiercely accented Italian Grandma Fiorelli; frequent and wildly funny postcards narrated by Dinnie's drawling Southern aunts, Grace and Tillie; and the exuberant Italian exclamations of Dinnie's new best friend, Guthrie. A lively cast of characters is fully realized. T.B. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

October 1, 1998
Gr 5-8-This honest, hopeful slice of adolescent life successfully explores how Domenica Santolina Doone, known as Dinnie, comes to terms with her past and establishes a secure identity for the future. Creech's skill at character development and subtle, effective use of metaphor shine in this first-person narrative with crisp, appropriately titled chapters. Deliberately, Creech introduces Dinnie as somewhat of a nonentity. Readers don't learn much about the specifics of her family life, only that her older sister and brother tend to get into various kinds of trouble, and that her parents are always looking for a new "opportunity" in some other town. By the second chapter, Dinnie explains that she's been "kidnapped" by her Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max, who take her with them to Switzerland to attend the school where Max is headmaster. In Dinnie's "second life" in Europe, her family continues to neglect her, forgetting even to let her know where they've relocated. Dinnie gradually adjusts to her new environment as she makes friends with other students from around the world: exuberant Guthrie; bitter Lila; and language-mangling Keisuke, who says "bloomable" when he means "possible." Together, these middle schoolers share classes and adventures, and explore ideas and emotions. As she reflects on her friends, her kind aunt and uncle, and her own vivid dreams, the youngster no longer sees herself as "Dinnie the dot in my bubble." Everyone can relate to the hard struggles of life, but, as the heroine comes to realize, the world is still full of "bloomability."-Peg Solonika, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA

September 15, 1998
Gr. 5^-7. As is her wont, Creech sends readers along on a thoughtful young character's life-changing odyssey. Having lived in 13 states in 12 years, Domenica Santolina Doone, Dinnie for short, has been traveling all her life; but it's still a shock when her parents suddenly hand her over to Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy, and she finds herself headed for the American School in Lugano, Switzerland, where Max is headmaster. During a thoroughly broadening year learning to ski and to speak Italian and re-examining preconceptions about herself and other people, Dinnie gradually loses her sense of being insulated from the world. As if fresh, smart characters in a picturesque setting weren't engaging enough, Creech also poses an array of knotty questions, both personal and philosophical--why, for instance, do Dinnie's parents send her away and subsequently become so uncommunicative? Why by school's end is Dinnie eagerly looking forward to rejoining her family (now living in Bybanks, Kentucky, site of "Chasing Redbird" [1997]), facing a tough decision about where to go to school next year. A story to stimulate both head and heart: wise, witty, and worth the money. ((Reviewed September 15, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)