First published 1982
Dicey Tillerman thought the hard part was over. She had led her three younger siblings across the country to find their grandmother after their mother abandoned them. Now they live in their grandmother's old house, but Dicey discovers that staying put brings its own challenges. Building a real family means more than just finding shelter. Dicey must learn to accept help from others instead of carrying every burden alone. Her siblings need her to be their sister, not their substitute parent. Their grandmother offers them a home, but trust develops slowly on both sides. Dicey struggles between her fierce independence and her deep need to belong somewhere. The children who survived by relying only on each other must now open their hearts to let someone else care for them.
Genres: fiction, family, literary-fiction, adolescence, adoption, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
204 pages · Hardcover · Atheneum