Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet? [Paperback]

Charlene Baumbich (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dearest Dorothy | Publication Date: January 27, 2004

For the legions of readers who enjoy books that celebrate life’s simple pleasures, eighty-seven-year-old Dorothy Jean Wetstra and her beloved farming town of Partonville, Illinois, will become instant favorites. In this hilarious, touching series, Charlene Ann Baumbich introduces readers to Dearest Dorothy, who tools around town in a 1976 Lincoln Continental nicknamed “The Tank,” plays bunco regularly with her pals, and grabs a stool at Harry’s counter often enough to stay on top of the latest-breaking news—which she is often creating. In the series debut, Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?, Dorothy faces a decision that may change her town forever, and her gift for shaking things up comes in handy. In the second book, Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out!, the town’s irresistible cast of characters is back in full swing as they confront some of the many surprises life sends their way. So pull up a chair and get ready for fireworks, laughter, and we’ll-get-through-it-all-with-faith friendships.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charlene Ann Baumbich is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Today’s Christian Woman, and numerous other magazines and newspapers. She is also the author of six nonfiction books of humor and inspiration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142003794
• ISBN-13: 978-0142003794
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #402,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spunky dorothy Keeps Us Laughing, December 9, 2004

By 

Constance M. Gotsch "Novelist On Board" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet? (Paperback)

Dorothy Jean Westra's the sort of Old lady who would wear purple if she darn well felt like it. CHARLENE ANN BAUMBICH has captured perfectly the kind of spunky older person we all admire and hope we can be in her little novel DEAREST DOROTHY, ARE WE THERE YET? Zipping betweenher farm and town in an old car she calls The Bomb, Dorothy Jean uses all the experiences of her 80-some years to face some of the toughest decisions of herlife. By her example, younger people around her realize that they, too can apply their own brand of wisdom to their knotty problems. As we laugh, ponder, love, care, and cry along with Dorothy, CHARLOTTE ANN BAUMBICH reminds us all that we need to keep our zest for life, because our attitudes and thought processes affect more people than we realize. DEAREST DOROTHY ARE WE THERE YET makes us remember, in a light-hearted way, that life is what we make it, and we owe it to ourselves and everyone else to make it good. A lesson like this could get heavy if delivered by a stern hand, but CHARLENE ANN BAUMBICH presents it in a rollicking way we can't resist,as we meet several delightful characters who inhabit a small Illinois town.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fans of the "Mitford" series will love this one!, March 28, 2004

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet? (Paperback)

Welcome to Partonville! Meet the spunky Dorothy Jean Wetstra, the glue that holds her small farming community together. Clad in her trademark pink from head to toe, 87-year-old Dorothy and her faithful mutt Sheba tool around the community in "The Tank," a "rusty-and-white" 1976 Lincoln Continental that shows increased signs of wear and tear from Dorothy's lead-foot driving.

Partonville is, in the words of the author Charlene Ann Baumbich, "a circle-the-square town in the northern part of southern Illinois, where oldsters are young, trees have names and cars don't fly." The characters that populate Dorothy's world are as endearing as the ones in Jan Karon's "Mitford" series.

Dorothy, a retired bandleader, is a member of "The Happy Hookers Club," which, having long given up hooking rugs as too stodgy, now plays bunco every month for prizes. The club includes Dorothy's best friend, May Belle, who makes award-winning double chocolate brownies and keeps a solicitous watch over her mentally challenged adult son Earl, who Partonville residents describe as "slow and particular."

Maggie Malone, the 72-year-old proprietor of La Feminique Hair Salon & Day Spa, never fails to shock the ladies with her propensity for change, and she's about to make a new fashion statement that will surprise the whole town. Soft-spoken sixty-two-year-old Nellie Ruth McGregor is the youngster in the club, who owes a debt to Dorothy she can never repay. Rounding out the club is Glady's McKern, the swaggering "acting mayor" of Partonville, and Jessie Landers, an aged former semi-professional softball star who still throws a mean pitch for the Wild Musketeers, the community team.

Down at Harry's Grill, rumors fly thick and fast about farmers selling out to a big developer. Sharon Teller, a reporter for the Partonville Press, works hard to get a big scoop on what is up the handsome developer Colton Craig's sleeve. Few of the town's residents guess that the resident of Partonville who is struggling with whether to sell or keep her farm is --- Dorothy! As always, when faced with difficulty, Dorothy spends time praying about what she should do with the family acreage where she was born. In her ritual evening "Moment with the Big Guy", she straightforwardly addresses the Lord succinctly: "Dear Lord, give me answers. Now. Amen." Or her favorite prayer, "Dear Jesus, Just DO something. Amen." She's also been known to blow God kisses.

God answers Dorothy's prayer in the unlikely guise of 47-year-old divorcee' Katie Durbin and her 15-year-old son Josh, who come down from Chicago to settle the estate of Katie's Aunt Tess Walker, one of Partonville's reclusive eccentrics. Katie has nothing but scorn for the country ways of "Pardon-Me-Ville," and hopes to get her business there wrapped up quickly and head back to her high-powered life in the city. Yet, Partonville has a way of ambushing the hearts of those who visit it, and under the warm care of the town's inhabitants, Katie finds old prejudices beginning to melt.

Although Baumbich's refreshingly unpretentious writing is not quite as seamless as Karon's, her ability to craft characters as interesting as Karon's does will cause them to sneak into your heart and take up residence there. Fans of the "Mitford" series should take to this new one from the same parent company like ducks to water.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?, March 18, 2004

By 

Bonnie L. Markiewicz (Champaign, illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet? (Hardcover)

Actually, I have just finished reading the follow-up to "Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?" - which is "Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, Your're Wearing Us Out!" What delightful books these are. They are "Gentle Fiction" like the Miss Julia Books, The Mitford Series and The Ladies of Covington. How nice to be able to read books that have age-appropriate characters in them - especially when they have so much SPUNK! I believe the author has another book coming out at the end of August and am eagerly anticipating it already. You will not be disappointed.