definingdulcie

Defining Dulcie by Paul Acampora ISBN: 0-439-92857-5 ©2006 165 pages

Good sections to read aloud: pp. 1-2 where Dulcie tells us about her father’s death pp. 15-17 where Dulcie sneaks out, steals the truck, and takes off across country!

Summary: Our main character, Dulcie, has just lost her father in a freak accident at school where he worked as a janitor. Shortly after, her mother decides to move them across the country to California. Dulcie is immediately unhappy there, although she doesn’t give it much of a chance. She decides to steal her father’s truck (which they drove over 2,000 miles in just weeks ago) and drive back to “home” where “Frank,” her grandfather still lives. This is a defining moment in her life...will this help her sort through this difficult time in her life or make things worse? Roxanne, a girl who is now working at the school with Dulcie’s grandfather sure helps.

YA fiction-- teen issues; death; abuse; mother/daughter relationships

©Jennifer Lang - WDMS - 2007