Dinnie comes from a less than functional family that moves around constantly. Dinnie is sent to live with her aunt and uncle at the boarding school where they work in Switzerland in the hopes that she won't turn out like her siblings.
The characters are realistic. Dinnie is the main character. She's easy to identify with. She loves her family and is upset that she's been sent to live in Switzerland. She comes to love it there and to love her aunt and uncle and friends, but still longs to be with her family and is hurt by their lack of letters to her. Any child who has ever been to summer camp or to visit relatives without their parents will know immediately how Dinnie feels. �Dinnie is a likeable character and it is easy for readers to put themselves in her place, feeling like a fish out of water both socially and geographically� (Voice of Youth Advocates 1999). She considers herself average, but isn't really (Creech 80). She's intelligent and open minded and I believe that even without her year spent in Switzerland she would have turned out far better off than her siblings. Dinnie is revealed through the thoughts,m actions and speech. She definitely shows growth throughout the story. By the end, she is much more open minded and is aware of all the possibilities life holds. Minor characters are also realistic. Lil is a spoiled rich girl from an unhappy home. She can be obnoxious and difficult, but is troubled by her home life. When she wants to be she can be charming and fun and full of life. Then there's Guthrie, Dinnie's best friend and potential love interest. Almost every reader will know someone who is like Guthrie. He is always happy and full of life. He lives every moment to its fullest and cheers up everyone around him. The least realistic of the characters is Dinnie's mother. She rarely write to Dinnie which doesn't seem believable at all.
The plot is unique, yet believable. After Dinnie's brother is arrested and her sixteen year old sister gets pregnant, Dinnie sent to live with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt is a teacher and uncle is headmaster of a boarding school in Switzerland. The plot is simply a chronology of Dinnie's year in Switzerland. The story is definitely interesting and moves. There isn't one identifiable climax but there are plenty of action packed and/or suspenseful moments. For instance, Lisa and Guthrie care caught in an avalanche will skiing (Creech 218). The story has an ending that's full of possibility but somewhat hard to believe. Dinnie is on her way back home and is pondering whether or not she will return to this school the following year. I can't imagine why the girl would want to stay with her parents that hav3e hardy spoken to her all year.
The setting is extremely important to this story. It takes place, for the most part, in Switzerland in present time. Much of the story takes place outside the boarding school in the nearby ski slopes and towns. The setting is key because it is a place unfamiliar to Dinnie. She's away from everyone she knows. So is everyone else though. The students are from all over the world. This creates a unique setup that affects the characters' behaviors.
The theme is the importance of friendship and the idea of �bloomability.� Bloomability refers to the ideda that life is full of unlimited possibilities. They key to finding them is to be open minded and embrace new ideas. The theme is definitely worth imparting to children.
The story is told in first person point of view by Dinnie. There is a good balance between dialogue and narration. Dinnie has lots of conversations with Lila and her aunt and with Guthrie, but, she also does a lot of describing; of her thoughts and of the things and people around her. She says �When I get home (Creech 31). This is just one example also of a metaphor being used in the book. The mood is sort of adventurous. You never know what new thing Dinnie will think up next. The book has humor in it as well. �The novel has some very clever laugh-out-loud moments, like the letters Dinnie gets from her aunts back in the States� (Voice of Youth Advocates 1999).
�Metaphors mixed in several languages, dream images of snow and distance, and the bittersweet terrors of adolescence will keep readers turning the pages and regretful to reach the last one� (Kirkus Reviews 1998).
Kirkus Reviews. 1998. Kirkus Reviews. In Books in Print [database online]. Available from
http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 1 December 2004.
Voice of Youth Advocates. 1999. Voice of Youth Advocates. In Books in Print [database online]. Available from
http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 1 December 2004.
