Customer Reviews

Dizzy

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this book because I was inspired by first-time author Cathy Cassidy's bio. It said a friend challenged her to finish the book she'd been writing and this was the result.

It was an interesting story and unique, one that almost no one else could tell. I mean, what's it like to be a modern, wandering hippie? I couldn't tell you. The author writes like she knows what it's like to be there. My problem with it is that I'm not sure that I really wanted to know. The subject matter was a little unsettling. A lot of the pages in this book were devoted to the first Festival experience. As soon as they moved away from that environment I liked the book better.

I'm an adult, so I don't know if kids reading this book would find the plot as obvious as I did.

Mouse's character was the most awkwardly handled of any in the book. That's understandable since he was the most disturbed. We were shown throughout the book that Mouse was unpredictable, but his fire juggling propensity still seemed to be introduced too abruptly; aside from that, this kid is only seven! His skill level was astonishing and, frankly, unbelievable. Despite the blatant foreshadowing of tragedy, the tragedy at least was not the exact one we were expecting.

I found Dizzy's insecure feelings about her dad more and more believable each time they came up. I thought that was handled exceptionally well. It seemed obvious to me that her dad loved her and was out of his mind with worry, but I also became convinced of Dizzy's uncertainty about his feelings for her.

The "kidnapping" was very obvious from the start, but I'm hard-pressed to figure out how it could have been less so. Arggh! Storm was so selfish and manipulative. Tess was wonderful.

I liked the relationship between Dizzy and Finn. I was uncomfortable that they kissed, but at least it wasn't a major theme or repeated.

I liked the ending. It was tidy and satisfying without being too engineered. It didn't drag on forever.

I'm glad I paid the whole $15.99 at the bookstore for this book instead of waiting for the paperback. I would recommend it to other readers (along with Ashwater Experiment by Amy Goldman Koss and Kevin Henkes' Olive's Ocean--I loved that book). I look forward to more books (as promised in the bio) by this author.

A cute YA story about a 12 year old girl named Dizzy whose hippie/traveler/new-agey/punky parents split up when her mom, Storm, couldn't stifle her wandering flakey ways and her dad, Pete, wanted to settle down and raise Dizzy properly. After years of living through annual postcards and assorted gifts from her mom, Dizzy finally gets to see her face to face. Though Storm won't let Dizzy call her "Mom" or function as a proper mom in any way, Dizzy is smitten and allows herself to be manipulated into a summer on the festival circuit. Things aren't all bad, because Dizzy meets a boy named Finn, but Storm turns out to be selfish, self-centered, and exactly not what Dizzy needed. There are some supporting characters in the book that I think could have been explored more fully (primarily Mouse, a little boy essentially abandoned by his parents through their immature lives in the hippie/festival world), but all in all I think Dizzy's personality and fears were examined in a very thorough manner.

It's well written and as I said, cute, but some parts were boring. Granted, I'm 33, so something written for junior high kids is going to be boring on some level. The characters are entertaining and well-written. I think young girls in the 5-7th grade age range with an alternative streak will love this book.

I read this book, and i just LOVED it! I looked at the cover and i thought it was going to be way different. But it turned out to be way better. Its definitly one of my favorite books by far. I loved the characters and in a way i felt like i was watching it and i was there. It was an amazing book. I would recommend it to people who like surprises and lots of fun and adventure! It is so worth the money.

Dizzy was deserted by her free spirited hippie mom who only wrote on her birthday each year. Near her 12th birthday her mother returns, gets her dad drunk and then takes her on the road. She introduces Dizzie to an immoral lifestyle. Then, the mother deserts Dizzy again without returning her to her dad. Dizzy's dad finally catches up with her, takes her home and openly lives with his girlfriend without mention of marriage. I am not recommending this to my grandchildren because the book does not adhere to the values they are being taught and there are so many more positive books they can read at their ages. I do however recommend it to Social workers or teachers to help remind them how children think. This book is well written and sorry to say it is true to life - but, the lifestyle that is being presented as normal for Dizzy is not my normal.

This book is amazing. It has so much detail and you never know whats around the corner. Each character has personality.
This story is about Dizzy. She has a normal life with her Dad as her parents broke up.
Each birthday she gets something special.
This time its her Mum. Her Mum takes her away in her hippie van without her Dad knowing.
They go to festivals and Dizzy makes some new friends.........

This was a really cute book. It was very predictable, but it was still really good. It didn't take me very long to read it, as it's a pretty short book, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The character relationships are interesting and the whole book was just fun.

Dizzy lives with her dad in a small flat. She is 12 and still thinks alot about her mum who left her when she was very little . Every year , for her Birthday she nad her dad watch a movie of her choice , eat pizza and open her presents. Dizzy gets very exited in the moring about a parcle arrivng contang birthday present from her mum. This year is different , there is no parcle in the mail. Instead her mum comes to see Dizzy . Dizzy sees her mum . She dose not look like anything she thought. Her mum ( called storm) has tatoos , hippy clothes and she smokes.

Strom spoils the birthday triddion and the next morning she takes Dizzy in her carenvan on a trip to Scotland . They stop at music festivals . They go on the trip with 2 other familes .

Dizzy has a huge adventure . She makes friends with Finn , a boy 2 years older then her and sends 5 postcards to her dad.

When her mum goes to India with another man and her dad picks her up he tells her that Storm took herself on the trip without telling him Dizzy realises that her mum is not that trustful as she thinks

I thought that the book "Dizzy" was so wonderful i loved the details they gave and i got really into the story. I thought that the book had drama you didnt know what would happened. The characters were Dizzy, Finn, Mouse, Leggit,Tess,Storm, and Pete. All characters were interesting i love every event in this book i recommend this book to everyone except the adults lol im not going to say more detail because i want everyone to read it themselves!

Here is a fun twist on the mother/daughter, coming of age theme. Those of us raised by the flower children of the 60's have our own culture, as strong as the one our parents fought for. We grew up in the freedom without perhaps first having any structure or real rules to rebel against.
We meet Dizzy, awaiting a sign from her estranged mother on her birthday; a card, a call. Lo and behold, "Storm" rolls in, seeing her daughter for the first time in years, and offering adventure. Dizzy happily leaves on a summer trip with her mama, only to appreciate the security and consistent support her less free-spirited dad has provided for her all along. She gets to know the "real" mother she lost, and herself as well. A wonderful, realistic, and beautifully told alternative view of family, as well as a needed window into the lives of those raised by the hippies of the 60's (who don't always share their parent's values).

Dizzy is turning 12. She lives with her father in a flat in England with an ordinary outer life and a mysterious background. The only memories of her mother are currently tacked to her corkboard, and her father--and his girlfriend--are quiet over the whereabouts of Dizzy's runaway parent. But things suddenly pick up speed when Storm, a hippie woman with wild clothes and a cocky attitude, shows up at the front door, who sweeps Dizzy right off her feet and whirls her around the green hills of Scotland in a patchwork van.

I bought "Dizzy" last year in the 8th grade and read it in a matter of days. I adore this book. Cathy Cassidy, being British herself, is a genius when it comes to writing. Her style is fresh and simple, with sybolism that isn't put in your face. Yes, I found the beginning obvious as well, but I was able to get myself over this and enjoy the rest of the story. Many people might find this book slow and boring and action-less, but I loved following Dizzy around the forests with Finn (a boy with dreadlocks and his soul in a guitar), Mouse (a confused, trouble-making orphan), and Leggit (a scruffy, laughable dog) and throughout the festivals where she hangs out with fourtune-tellers and paints faces.

And the story is very real, tackling subjects some authors overdo and exaggerate--parental disappointment, the confusing times between pre-teen and teen, responsibility, and the different sorts of love between family and friends. I loved the whole "New Age Traveler" topic and I guess this story can really show that love--and, unfortunately, disappointment--can come from all different walks of life, and that life really is just a spinning, ever-changing, dizzy experience.

Cassidy's other books, Indigo Blue and Scarlett, are both very special reads, and she has also written Driftwood (only released in UK) and soon-to-be-published Sundae Girl (UK) and Lucky Star (UK) are bound to be heart-warmers.

Read "DIZZY"!!!!