Creech, Sharon. Bloomability. New York: Harper Trophy, 1998

Audience: 8-12 year olds or grades 5 though 8.

Thirteen-year old Domenica Santolina Doone, known as Dinnie, is growing up with a family that is constantly moving. Like the main characters in Green Acres, Dinnie's parents come from different backgrounds. Her mother grew up in the city and her dad, in the country. Dinnie's father has a hard time keeping a job. Her mother had a college degree, yet frequently is waiting tables to contribute to the family income. Dinnie's older siblings, Crick and Stella, begin to act out because of all of the moves they've experienced. Crick ends up in jail and Stella marries a Marine and has a baby. Thus ends Dinnie's "first life."

At this point, Dinnie's Uncle Max and Aunt Sandy arrive. In order to give Dinnie a chance at a better life, the family agrees that Dinnie should travel with her aunt and uncle to Switzerland. There, she will live with them and attend the private school where Uncle Max is the headmaster. Thus begins Dinnie's "second life."

Dinnie's "next life" begins when she returns to the United States and her family.

I appreciated the way the Creech portrayed a dysfunctional family without alienating the reader from them. I'm sure that there are many children who can relate to some or all of the family's challenges (moving all the time, a sibling who gets into trouble with the law, a sibling who gets pregnant at a young age, a parent who is unable to hold a job). It is a sympathetic portrayal that allows the reader to see how this lifestyle is negatively affecting each child.

Creech did a good job with presenting accents and different languages in a print medium. Many children won't have the opportunity to visit Switzerland, but they will have to learn to appreciate the gifts and friendships of children who are different from themselves. Dinnie's experience in Switzerland is an example of learning to appreciate the gifts of different cultures. The use of phrases in Italian help to capture the sense of place in this novel, as do Creech's descriptions of a foreign landscape: Switzerland.

"Dinnie's Dreams" were an interesting touch, as well as the word in the window. I also liked the foreshadowing developed in the last paragraph on page 24: " . . . Later I would be able to look back at this view and to see it and appreciate it, and it would affect me profoundly. But on that first day, I could only see what wasn't here: my family."

On a different note, I think that Creech dropped out of character with the first paragraph on page 22: "It looked like a picture in the book Sandy and Max had given me." This probably should have referenced Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max.

Creech touches on sensitive topics, but she isn't heavy handed, which would make this book palatable for most parents and school situations. The many situations faced by Dinnie and her family provide ample fodder for classroom discussion. It isn't the cutting-edge realism, but rather the harder points of life portrayed in a gentle manner.