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Rocky Road

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Ice cream warms the heart, no matter what the weather.
That's the Dobson family motto. Whenever things get tough, they break out the special heart-shaped bowls and make sundaes. The road has been especially rocky lately for Tess and her deaf little brother, Jordan. Their plucky Texan mother talks big, but her get-rich-quick business schemes have only landed them in serious financial hot water.
Ma's newest idea is drastic. She abruptly moves the family to snowy Schenectady, New York, where she will use the last of their savings to open her dream business: an ice cream shop. (Too bad the only place she could find an apartment is in a senior citizens' complex.) Tess wants to be excited about this plan, but life in Schenectady is full of new worries. Who will buy ice cream in their shop's run-down neighborhood? What will happen when their money runs out? Worst of all is Ma herself-she's famous for her boundless energy and grandiose ideas, but only Tess and Jordan know about the dark days when she crashes and can't get out of bed. And Tess can't seem to find the right words to talk to Ma about it.
This moving story of family, community, and ice cream proves that with a little help from the people around us, life really can be sweet-and a little nutty-just like Rocky Road.
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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 28, 2010
      Financial troubles, bipolar disorder, and the pain of being the new kid are just a few of the themes explored in this sweet story about 12-year-old Tess Dobson, who is wise—and strong—beyond her years. She has to be: her eight-year-old younger brother, Jordan, is deaf, and her single mother, Delilah, is prone to wacky business ideas, money problems, and "Shooting Stars," Tess's term for her mother's bouts of depression. After being evicted, Delilah moves Tess and Jordan from Texas to Schenectady, N.Y.—into a retirement community. Delilah plans to open an ice cream shop, and although things are going according to plan (Tess and Jordan are making friends in school and in their new apartment complex), Tess feels uneasy: "My whole life I've wanted to trust Ma, but that's impossible if you're around her more than an hour." When Shooting Stars strike on the day of the store's big opening, Tess must rely on her new friends. Though the narrative runs long and things tie up a bit too neatly, Kent's (Kimchi and Calamari) sympathetic heroine and heartening conclusion should satisfy readers. Ages 8–12.

    • Booklist

      June 1, 2010
      Grades 5-7 With stars in her eyes, Ma moves seventh-grader Tess and her younger brother Jordan, who is deaf, from Texas to Schenectady, New York, where she plans to open an ice-cream shop. With dread in the pit of her stomach, Tess starts her new school and begins to make friends in their new neighborhood, a senior-living community. Though its good to see her mother so full of energy, ideas, and optimism, she knows that Mas soaring emotional states inevitably plummet into crushing episodes of depression. Readers with their own family challenges may find it heartening to see Tess handle hers by building a diverse, supportive, multigenerational community around her. The storys slow pace gives plenty of time to develop characters and relationships so that when the dreaded climax occurs, it seems believable that Tess has the help she needs to cope with it. Predictable, yes, but also a hopeful family story from the author of Kimchi and Calamari (2007).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

    • The Horn Book

      July 1, 2010
      As Tess and her deaf brother Jordan accept their sudden relocation to Schenectady, their well-intentioned but mentally imbalanced mother pursues her dream of owning an ice cream parlor. Their mother's plans are quickly threatened by "Shooting Stars"--Tess's term for her mother's "seesaw moods"--but friends rally to the rescue. Though the novel's resolution ultimately feels too neat, resourceful Tess's narration is dynamic.

      (Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

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  • Kindle Book
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Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:5.3
  • Lexile® Measure:830
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:4-5

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