Dolores: Seven Stories About Her [Library Binding]

Bruce Brooks (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

Dolores is different.

She heard "Lithium" come on the radio and asked him to turn it up, and then turn it up again until it was really blasting, and she even song along with the chorus, "I love you, I'm not gonna crack," at the top of her little voice, which he bet no other seven-year-olds could come close to doing.

Dolores is poised.

"Mom, there are four spoons here! I'm really asking! Which one do I use now? God forbid I eat a thick soup with the bouillon spoon or something reserved for thin broths-help me out!"

Dolores is spunky.

"I want to be a Central cheerleader because I like to make people scream!"

Dolores is tough.

She was terrified; she was furious. She let her anger burn her fear. She punched him smack in the nose as hard as she could.

Shockingly beautiful, quirky, sarcastic, brave, and elusive, Dolores is always, quite simply,

Dolores.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Newbery Honor author Brooks (The Moves Make the Man) presents seven vignettes that expose the complex nature of Dolores, an uncommonly beautiful and bright girl who evolves from an outgoing, trusting seven-year-old to a cynical, seemingly friendless teenager. The most dramatic tales open and close the volume. In the first, her older brother, Jimmy, perhaps the most winning and fully fleshed-out character in the novel, foils two women's attempt to kidnap Dolores in the Wal-Mart where he works; in the finale, Dolores, now 16, escapes from the car of a man who tries to rape her in New York City. Set during the years between these two incidents, the other stories offer insight into her relationships with her divorced parents (she adores her father but has a mutually hostile rapport with her mother) and with peers (a loner in sixth grade, she becomes the target of classmates' vicious rumors and, in high school, defies the dictates of the bossy head cheerleader after joining the squad). In another standout entry, Dolores attends a party at which a macho athlete attempts to make the moves on her. Disgusted, she takes refuge in the garage, where a gentle, shy boy finds her and the two share a first kiss. Brooks shapes a kind of cubist portrait of Dolores by piecing together various individuals' perspectives of her; she remains sufficiently aloof and elusive even from her mother's point of view. Through his portrayal of Dolores, the author inventively creates the literary equivalent of the adolescent experience: a heightened intelligence, a raised consciousness and a flurry of contradictions. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grades 7-10--Witty dialogue, nonconformist antics, and mature insights bring loner Dolores to life in this sequence of seven stories that reveals pivotal moments in her life. At age seven, she is rescued from abductors by her older brother Jimmy, who works at Wal-Mart as a music guru in the CD department. While her divorced parents vie for influence over their children, Dolores appreciates the predictability and bohemian encouragement of her father, who buys her an electric guitar and signs her up for ice hockey in spite of the restrictive attitudes of her disapproving mother. Dolores is comfortable with herself. Sixth-grade playground teasing and rumors about her prematurely big chest and her supposed crush on a female teacher go nowhere because the girl calmly turns the other cheek. At a high school party, the teen eludes the mocking sexual intent of a macho basketball star and finds kindness and a shared music interest with William, a classmate who has admired her from afar. And finally, at age 16, Dolores is abducted by a passerby, but this time she saves herself. Do is an intriguing, sophisticated character whose clever verbal sparring reveals truths about herself and others. Her brother and father are constants in her life, and she is a loner but not lonely. Brooks taps into adolescent interests with his timely references to music, fashion, and sports. In Dolores, he has created an engaging character whose indomitable spirit defies labels, abuse, and conformity, and whose coming-of-age vignettes are both lighthearted and liberated.
Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 144 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060294736
• ISBN-13: 978-0060294731
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,987,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richie's Picks: DOLORES: SEVEN STORIES ABOUT HER, October 7, 2002

By 

Richie Partington "Richie's Picks" (Sebastopol, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dolores: Seven Stories About Her (Hardcover)

"'New girl?' asked Mary in her minimalist way, displaying absolutely no interest; Dolores had detected a mean and iron spirit beneath her falsely charming demand for fealty from the other girls. 'Not really,' said Dolores. 'I've been one all my life.'"

DOLORES: SEVEN STORIES ABOUT HER is a memorable collection of short stories about a girl who you'll long to meet. A day after reading it I'm already missing her! The seven glimpses we are given of Dolores--set chronologically between the ages of seven and sixteen--provide a brief-yet-vivid portrait of a girl who is growing up strong, who is comfortable with who she is, and who is an absolute joy to know.

Dolores's growth, from the seven year old who is able to gain the admiration and respect of her big brother's teenage friends, to a teenager herself--ready and able to face down the fiercest threats flung her way, is accomplished with the ever-present support of that big brother, Jimmy. The most poignant scenes in the book are those in which Jimmy is there, time and again, to guard her from harm, to converse with her at the crack of dawn, or to smile and wave at her from up in the bleachers.

"They heard the sound of things being scraped onto plates. Twice.
'Now the music will go up,' said Dolores.
The music went up. It was jazz piano.
Footsteps came down the hall.
'You think he likes all this?' Jimmy asked, in spite of himself.
Jimmy heard a rustling in Dolores's bed as the footsteps drew near the door.
'I think he likesus,' whispered Dolores. 'Now, pretend you're asleep! It's the least we can do.'
Jimmy closed his eyes and lay still. The room was quiet as the door opened."

Dolores, a girl who has learned how to slice through all of the popularity nonsense, how to wield a hot hockey stick, and who also plays a mean electric guitar, is a girl you've gotta meet ...