Homecoming - Cynthia Voigt
Classic novel spotlights four brave children.
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- Author:Cynthia Voigt
- # of pages: 312
- Publisher:Simon and Schuster BFYR
- Original Publication Date: 01/01/1981
- Genre: Fiction - Contemporary Fiction
- Paperback: $5.99
- Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: Ages 9-12
- Read Aloud: 9-10
- Read Alone: 11+
Parents need to know
Families can talk about the various definitions of "home" and "family," as well as the importance of sticking together in the face of tough times. Does Dicey's relationship with her siblings change over the course of the book? How so? If you were in Dicey's position, would you have done anything differently?
Message
Social Behavior:
A villainous character calls a kind circus owner a "nigger." The children accept help, including rides, from several strangers.
Consumerism:
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Violence
Children are abandoned by their mother.
Sex
Language
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Amy Brotman
Is it any good?
The lead character, Dicey Tillerman, carries this book. She is a magnificent girl--fiercely loyal, endlessly resourceful, and intuitive, yet with the short temper and quick emotions of any thirteen-year-old. Seen through Dicey's watchful eyes, the other children are every bit as believable.
The plot sprawls, but that's acceptable in a road novel. The tedium, heat, danger, and unexpected pleasures of the journey are evoked in beautiful, sometimes heart-stopping images. However, some of the adult characters' dialogue doesn't sound entirely believable.
Gram is a likable adult in the story full of less-than-desirable ones. She shows Dicey that, even with all she's got going for her, the girl has some things to learn. When Gram agrees to give Dicey sailing lessons, it's clear Dicey's next journey will be one of personal growth. This incident ends the book with a feeling that is, as Dicey would say, "as warm as swallowing sunshine."
Dicey's Song, the sequel to HOMECOMING, won the 1983 Newbery Medal. Brock Cole's The Goats is an excellent story about kids on the run.
Other choices
For another young-adult novel featuring a smart, tough girl with an unusual family, try The Ashwater Experiment, by Amy Goldman Koss.
Parents and kids say
All Reviews
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