Dizzy [Paperback]

Cathy Cassidy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2004

a ragdoll, a postcard from Marrakech, a rainbow-stripe hat, a dreamcatcher, a silver necklace with a pink stone in. Dizzy's mum left when she was small. But every year, on her birthday, something arrives in the post - a present or a card with her mum's loopy writing on. Dizzy has kept everything. But this year is different. This year's present is her mum, in person. Tanned and skinny with loads of earrings and a huge smile, Storm is a human whirlwind. She whisks Dizzy away for a summer that puts her whole world in a spin.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–When 12-year-old Dizzy is kidnapped by her hippie mother, whom she hasn't seen or heard from in eight years, she thinks that flighty Storm has her father's approval to take her to a solstice festival in Scotland where he will join them. As the weeks go by, Dizzy increasingly dislikes sleeping in a teepee, eating moldy bread, going without hot water, singing for handouts in town, and narrowly escaping arrest. Storm shoves her off on her friend Tess, and Dizzy realizes that Storm isn't the mother she had been wishing for. Dizzy and Tess's son bond and look after the neglected son of Storm's boyfriend. Readers will empathize with the protagonist as she fears that her father has abandoned her, and it takes a serious accident to right things. The eclectic characters and their lifestyle are presented as captivating yet questionable in the girl's first-person narrative, and the well-developed plot fosters concern for Dizzy from the beginning. A unique, satisfying story.–Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Miamisburg, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-9. Birthdays are special for Dizzy because they are the only day each year that she hears from her hippy, carefree mother, who abandoned Dizzy and her father when Dizzy was four. On her twelfth birthday, though, her mother, "Storm," unexpectedly shows up in person, wanting to take Dizzy to a solstice festival. Though her mother's bohemian lifestyle is fun, Dizzy increasingly realizes that Storm isn't the person she wants her to be. The diarylike, first-person, present-tense narrative details Dizzy's experiences, complex feelings, and growth as she learns to appreciate the importance of adult care and trust. With strong supporting characters--among them, 14-year-old Finn, who becomes a friend and more, and troubled seven-year-old Mouse, whom Dizzy comes to care for as a brother--this engaging first novel, set in England and Scotland, will attract kids with its likeable, sympathetic protagonist, whose life illustrates the challenges and rewards of adolescence, family, and love. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (June 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014131785X
• ISBN-13: 978-0141317854
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,154,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, a little obvious, but well-written, December 25, 2004

By 

S. Burton (Orem, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dizzy (Hardcover)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When parents don't grow up., November 3, 2005

By 

J. Marchese (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dizzy (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SO GOOD!!!! AMAZING BOOK!!, January 19, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Dizzy (Hardcover)

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.