¶ … Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt

This book by Cynthia Voigt tells a unique family story. Perhaps I should say "an unlikely story" about a thirteen-year-old girl, Dicey Tillerman, who suddenly becomes a surrogate mother to her sisters and brothers when their ill-stricken mother abandons them at a shopping mall. Dicey, fearing they'll be separate by authorities if they turn themselves in, decides they should stay together and take a very personal journey to their long-absent aunt's house.

After an exhausting trek through Connecticut with the help of college students who gave the kids a lift, they discover their aunt is dead; however, their aunt's daughter accepts them and tries to divide the kids -- the one fear Dicey had. And just when all seems lost, the children -- still bonded together -- hit the road again toward Chesapeake Bay where their grandmother resides. This journey down the Atlantic Coast is filled with characters that help them, propel them closer toward their destination, and will forever leave positive impressions upon their lives.

The story has a happy ending. Their journey comes to a success has Dicey -- this strong young teenage girl -- who is the center of their family, the one that keeps the spirits on track and focused to find their grandmother Abigail, who accepts all of them with open arms and they are now a secured family under law: a legal guardian to raise and keep the children together.

The overall story is really a genuine American story: the symbolism of the mall (a family gathering center), the long highways that bind this country together, the variety and uniqueness of individuals (college students and circus performers) who populate this land of ours. But surprisingly, it is about a loving group of brothers and sisters who are frightened by the abandonment of their mother and must break the rules to stay alive and to stay together. Cynthia Voigt's book has one main theme: never abandon family, never give up on the family.