When Dulcie's father dies in a freak cleaning accident, they barely have time to pick out a headstone before her mother decides that a change in scenery will help them with the grieving process. So she uproots Dulcie from the only home she’s known and moves her across the continental United States from Newbury, Connecticut to San Leandro, California. Dulcie isn’t ready to leave all her memories behind. She doesn’t want to make a new start in a strange place. Her mother’s decision to trade her father’s truck for a small sedan proves to be the catalyst Dulcie needs. She leaves California with $300 from her mother’s stash and drives her father’s 1968 red Chevy pick-up back home to Newbury and her grandfather. While Dulcie learns how to heal the strained relationship between herself and her mother, she befriends Roxanne whose wretched home life puts Dulcie's situation in a clearer perspective.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com ( )

I enjoyed this little book. It was a quick, sweet read. The ending wasn't what I was wanting, but overall I liked the book. What I love about Paul Acampora are the little bits of wisdom he puts all over the place in his books. Here was one of my favorites:

"For the first time since Dad died, I felt a bright stab of unexpected happiness. Maybe it was the laughter. Maybe it was the fact that I was worried about somebody other than myself for a change."

I love that! When my kids left home to go to college and they would call and be sad or depressed or homesick, I would tell them to go out and find someone to serve. That always takes you out of yourself and helps you to see your own problems with another perspective. I love how this author puts little tidbits like that in his books, and I hope that the kids who read these books pick up on some of those things. So even though I didn't love this book quite like I loved I Kill the Mockingbird , I definitely recommend it as a good story with a good moral. ( )

This was a very quick light read, it was pretty good but overall I felt like it was just okay. I wasn't overly impressed but I did like it, and I'm glad that I read it.

For a more detailed review, please check out my blog at http://www.thebooktower.webs.com ( )

This book was very fast paced... I was surprised how fast I plowed through it. It's about a teen girl whose beloved father dies in a janitorial accident. Her mother moves them from Connecticut to California to escape but Dulcie needs to be home because that's where she feels she belongs. She takes her dad's truck and escapes back to the east coast. For a book that has a truck on the front cover and a back description about a girl running away, the actual running away part only took one chapter!!! The rest of the book either takes place before or after her road trip (mostly after) and the majority of the book is about a friend she meets while on summer vacation. A friend who has a secret that she is dying to tell someone. ( )

An adolescent girl loses her father in a freak janitorial accident. Because of their loss, Duclie's mom moves them across the US to California. Dulcie runs away, back to Connecticut where she started, and lives with her grandather. While she's there she meets a strange and wonderful new friend, Roxanne, who helps her learn about who she really is. ( )