55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just can't wait to be on that road again, May 18, 2005
When I decided to suddenly try to read as many different kinds of children's books out there, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Suddenly I was discovering a multitude of different staples, awards, experts, critiques, and controversies. Perhaps most surprising to me, however, were those books that I was somewhat familiar with, but not actually fluent in. Cynthia Voigt's Tillerman saga is a collection of some seven books about a single variegated family. The series is considered by some to be a masterpiece. So I decided that the time had come to finally give these books a try. Of course, the first book in the saga, "Homecoming" is daunting. It's a work of realistic fiction filling about 402 pages. Hardly light reading. I started it with some reluctance. Then I found myself completely unable to stop until I'd reached the end. This is one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure to read. I only wish that had been obvious from the outset.
It sounds like the headline of a tabloid newspaper: Mother Abandons Children In Mall Parking Lot. But for the Tillerman children, Dicey James, Maybeth, and Sammy, their situation is horribly real. Their mother has abandoned them without explanation or even so much as a goodbye. Dicey, the thirteen-year-old eldest of the kids, thinks the situation through. They have a little money and they know where their only known relative, a rich aunt, lives. If they go to the police they may be separated from one another and placed in foster homes. If they make it to the aunt's house, however, they might be able to stay together. It's a risk considering the distance they must travel and the dangers along the way, but Dicey has faith in their mission. The book is split into two portions. In the first, the kids make their way to their aunt. In the second, they've discovered they have a grandmother and find themselves on the road once more.
Now I have a confession to make here. When I started to read this book some four days ago, it was not the first time I'd attempted to make it through, "Homecoming". When I was a kid my literary aunt made me a present of this self same title. I was about 9 or 10 and though I gave the book a once over, I never got into it. Sure, there were things I liked about it. I loved the idea of four kids making it on their own without any adult supervision. Heck, that's one of the biggest child fantasies out there. Why do you think so many children's book heroes and heroines are orphans? Without parents about, kids are free to do as they choose, no matter how foolish and stupid those things might be. But the thing about the Tillermans is that they don't want to be in that position. Not in the least. From the moment their mother abandons them, they hate that they're alone. Each child has a different cross to bear as well. Sammy, the youngest, has grown stubborn and spoiled from having to deal with their mother's mental illness. Maybeth, a little older, has dealt with their lot differently. She rarely speaks to anyone but her immediately family and is seen as mentally challenged by adults. James is incredibly intelligent but angry at the world. How he deals with the injustices he sees is sometimes wise, sometimes incredibly dumb. Dicey, for the most part, is the strongest of them all. If she has a flaw it's that she's almost too protective of her little siblings. What Dicey finds she likes most to do is sail boats. It's the passion for doing something while thinking of nothing that draws her.
Voigt is especially good at complex human beings. There are no villains in this book (with the exception of an amazingly creepy farmer that threatens the kids at one point). Otherwise, people are a mixed bag of emotions and intentions. The kids' cousin Eunice, who takes them in at one point, isn't a bad person. She's just weak and silly. I fully expected the book to demonize those adults that had intentions towards the children different from the children's own, but this was not the case. Whether you're reading about the dog handler of a traveling circus or a severe nun, each person in this book could be made out of actual flesh and blood they're so real. Really, the book is a children's answer to "On the Road". And it's a breath-taking journey to find a place to call home.
So it's 402 pages. If you can get a kid to read the first 2 chapters, I bet a wad o' cash that they'll be hooked. I haven't read a children's book quite this amazing in quite some time. Now it'll be all anyone can do to keep me from reading the entire saga straight through without cease. An amazing bit of writing and a great tale.
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44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I've read it three times and enjoy it more each time!, May 9, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Homecoming (Mass Market Paperback)
I first read Homecoming in 3rd grade as my first "fat book" (it has 372 pages). I loved it, even though it took me about three months to finish. Since then I've read it two other times. Homecoming lets your imagination soar, thinking of odd and fascinating ways to earn money and survive in this world. In Homecoming after their mother deserts them at a shopping mall, Dicey (age 13) and her younger siblings (ages 6,9,10) must survive a trip to their Aunt Cilla's house. WALKING! Money is a BIG problem, at the beginning of their trip all they had was a measly $11. And they spent $4 the first night! All four struggle to withstand the threat of starvation. And at points in the story, they walk for so long and so hard; you'd wonder why they just don't collapse. Also is the terror of being caught and put in a foster home. Man! How can you expect a 13-year-old to hold all that responsibility! Luckily a couple of people they meet are kind, but certainly not everyone! I would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who has a good imagination or loves adventures!
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Homecoming, February 17, 2000
This review is from: Homecoming (Mass Market Paperback)
"Where's Momma?"
This is the question Dicey, a thirteen year old girl and her three siblings asked. The are abandoned in a parking lot by their mother. It is now up to Dicey to protect her brothers and sister through this intense journey to find relative that would take care of them. As well as being responsible and couragous, Dicey was very devoted to her family. She was also very determinded to get to Bridgeport, where she believed her Aunt Cilla lived. Dicey's ten year old brother, James, helped her tremendously on thier expedition to find a family. Maybeth, Dicey's only sister, was very shy, unlike her brother Sammy, who was vastly outgoing. "Momma took the keys," Dicey thought. "So we can't drive." Their only other solution was to walk to their aunt's house in Bridgeport. She was the only relative they knew of. Would Dicey make it more than 100 miles with two brothers and a sister, when she had only seven dollars in her pocket? The story, Homecoming, had many themes. One theme is "always stay together" because if Dicey had traveled alone and something happened, she wouldn't survive. Another theme is, "everything happens for a reason" because if the Tillermans' mom didn't leave them, Dicey and her family would have never been able to meet their other relatives. This novel is rich in vocabulary and beautiful language. Cynthia Voigt uses wonderful sensory descriptions and language. An example of this is when she says, "twilight crept over the water towards them, dainty as a mouse". The author allows you to visualize what is happening so you feel like you are actually there. Will Dicey and her family ever survive?
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