From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8–A searing portrait of a woman's mental illness and its effects on her children is told by her youngest daughter, 10-year-old Dolphin. High school student Star is a practical, angry teen. Their mother, Marigold, is covered in tattoos and compulsively gets new ones whenever she gets upset, which happens more and more frequently. The family is constantly on the brink of being homeless and the girls essentially have to take care of themselves and their mother. Marigold is obsessed with Star's father, whom she hasn't seen in years and who doesn't even know that he has a daughter. She finds Micky at a concert and is convinced that they will now reunite. Star goes to stay with him because she can't handle Marigold any longer, leaving Dolphin with a mother who is less and less stable. After a complete breakdown, she is put in a psychiatric ward and Dol is put in foster care, at least temporarily. Star comes back and stays there as well. Dolphin is a sympathetic character and the relationship between the sisters is realistically portrayed, as is Marigold's mental illness. This isn't a fun read and the girls' future is only moderately hopeful, but it is an involving one on a subject not often portrayed in children's literature.
–B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Gr. 5-7. Wilson, who always writes realistically and with humor, outdoes herself in this story about nine-year-old Dolphin, the narrator; her older sister, Star; and their one-of-a-kind mother, Marigold. Covered with tattoos and alternating between manic and depressive behavior, Marigold nonetheless inspires devotion from her daughters, who do more of the mothering than she does. After Star's father turns up and she goes to live with him, Marigold sinks deeper into madness. Dolphin finally helps get her to the hospital and then enters foster care, with her own father hovering in the background. Wilson's strong suit is her characterization. Star is convincing as the worried, responsible sister who longs to move out but feels guilty about it, and Dolphin never seems older than her years as she relates the alternating awe and fear that almost everyone around her inspires. The centerpiece, though, is Marigold, who tries to be a good mother, even as she gives in to her immature feelings and struggles with her bipolar disease. There are a few unrealistic plot points, but readers will be too busy rooting for Dolphin and her family to notice.
Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
