Seventeen Against the Dealer (The Tillerman Series #7) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Cynthia Voigt (Author) "DICEY?..." (more)
Key Phrases: tennis camp, Miss Tillerman, New Year, Professor Browning (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Dicey Tillerman, out of school and assuredly launching her own boat-building business, seems ready to face anything that comes her way. But the obstacles she faces so thoroughly immerse her in the work that she loses sight of other facets of her life and neglects her grandmother (who is ill), her boyfriend Jeff and the other Tillermans--Maybeth, James and Sammy--who are struggling with their own lives. Further, Dicey overlooks key details of running a business (having an insurance policy, understanding obligations to her potential clients) that seem minor at first, but effectively force her to close shop. She stacks the odds against herself, and must admit that she doesn't always have the answers. The last book in the Tillerman family cycle will work its way into readers' sensibilities like the roots of a long-nurtured plant that suddenly blooms; this novel is the sum of all those that have preceded it--just as quietly powerful, just as beautifully paced. That Dicey so believably paints herself into a corner and comes to terms with her own limitations in such a breathtakingly short period of time--over such ordinary events--makes this one of the season's truly accomplished novels. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Grade 8-12 This final volume about the Tillerman family is a finely-crafted novel about goals and values and about nurturing relationships rather than taking them for granted. Dicey is now 21, and she once again exhibits the single-minded determination that served her so well in Homecoming (1981) and Dicey's Song (1982, both Atheneum). Here, however, it also works to her disadvantage, for at this point in her life, she is also filled with youthful arrogance, foolish independence, and naivety. She has saved enough money to start a boatyard business, and she is fiercely determined to make a go of it. She makes serious business errors and lets herself be duped by a con artist. Throughout, her blinders keep her working to the point of exhaustion and obsession, all the while missing what is happening in her family and to her relationship with her boyfriend, Jeff. Between New Year's Day and Valentine's Day, Dicey follows her spiritual quest, finally realizing that while achieving one's goals is important, so too are family, knowledge, and personal growth. As Dicey becomes more involved in her work, family members fade from the pages, and readers are as isolated from them as Diceyuntil an emergency brings her back to reality. Descriptions are vivid; writing is in turn leisurely and clipped; characters spring to life, all revealing their own strengths and weaknesses. Stunning performavealing their own strengths and weaknesses. Stunning performances from all of the Tillermans. Trev Jones, "School Library Journal"
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689851332
• ISBN-13: 978-0689851339
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #146,139 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The Tillerman Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ahh...okay., June 10, 2002

By	Alice Fielding "kangarunitarian" (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Seventeen Against the Dealer (The Tillerman Series #7) (Mass Market Paperback)

By now, the wonderfully three-dimensional characters such as Dicey and Jeff are beginning to wilt. I recommend this book to fans of Dicey because it is good to find out what happens, but this isn't a book worth reading more than two or three times. (the earlier ones in the series NEVER get old) It's too depressing, and the happy ending doesn't really make up for the depressing parts.

I've always been disappointed that Jeff Greene, who is possibly my favorite character in all of literary fiction, is never fleshed out beyond A Solitary Blue. The later Dicey books make him out to be some sort of young god. Kind of disappointing.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fitting end, April 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Seventeen Against the Dealer (The Tillerman Series #7) (Mass Market Paperback)

In all honesty, this book could be about the Tillermans starting a circus and I would still have enjoyed it. But it isn't, and Dicey's struggle to build boats and finish building herself and her relationships is exactly the way the series is supposed to end. This book lacks the sheer poetic beauty of A Solitary Blue or Homecoming, but anyone who remotely enjoyed any of the other books would find a visit to Seventeen... worthwhile. Yes, it gets bogged down in the details of boatbuilding, but it effectively demonstrates how most of us spend our adult lives bogged down in the details, always teetering on the edge of success or ruin. And its nice to see Dicey and Jeff still together, but maybe thats just me.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The final Tillerman saga, July 3, 2000

By	Andrew O'Connor (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seventeen Against the Dealer (The Tillerman Series #7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Cynthia Voight never ceases to amaze, in this closing book to the ongoing Tillerman saga. Dicey gets a hold of her life in this installment, but shows how growing older makes life less easy to control. I recommend this to anyone who has read the other Tillerman books and wants to finish it. I only wish it were longer, and gave the ending more room. Truly amazing in all aspects. It is just a good book.