Dizzy

I bought this book because I was inspired by first-time author Cathy Cassidy's bio. It said a friend challenged her to finish the book she'd been writing and this was the result.

It was an interesting story and unique, one that almost no one else could tell. I mean, what's it like to be a modern, wandering hippie? I couldn't tell you. The author writes like she knows what it's like to be there. My problem with it is that I'm not sure that I really wanted to know. The subject matter was a little unsettling. A lot of the pages in this book were devoted to the first Festival experience. As soon as they moved away from that environment I liked the book better.

I'm an adult, so I don't know if kids reading this book would find the plot as obvious as I did.

Mouse's character was the most awkwardly handled of any in the book. That's understandable since he was the most disturbed. We were shown throughout the book that Mouse was unpredictable, but his fire juggling propensity still seemed to be introduced too abruptly; aside from that, this kid is only seven! His skill level was astonishing and, frankly, unbelievable. Despite the blatant foreshadowing of tragedy, the tragedy at least was not the exact one we were expecting.

I found Dizzy's insecure feelings about her dad more and more believable each time they came up. I thought that was handled exceptionally well. It seemed obvious to me that her dad loved her and was out of his mind with worry, but I also became convinced of Dizzy's uncertainty about his feelings for her.

The "kidnapping" was very obvious from the start, but I'm hard-pressed to figure out how it could have been less so. Arggh! Storm was so selfish and manipulative. Tess was wonderful.

I liked the relationship between Dizzy and Finn. I was uncomfortable that they kissed, but at least it wasn't a major theme or repeated.

I liked the ending. It was tidy and satisfying without being too engineered. It didn't drag on forever.

I'm glad I paid the whole $15.99 at the bookstore for this book instead of waiting for the paperback. I would recommend it to other readers (along with Ashwater Experiment by Amy Goldman Koss and Kevin Henkes' Olive's Ocean--I loved that book). I look forward to more books (as promised in the bio) by this author.

"Dizzy" is the twelve-year old daughter of a former hippy and an aging flowerchild. Her vagabond mother left Dizzy and her father when she was only 4, and Dizzy is struggling with her loss and trying to recoup a mother-daughter relationship when her mother arrives on her birthday and takes her away to join her freespirited livestyle. Her mother, "Storm" is a self-centered thrill-seeker who uses Dizzy and others and betrays their trust. Written in Dizzy's voice, this book is funny and sweet and also manages to present a dismal picture of substance abuse and mental illness. While the tone is juvenile and the plot somewhat predictable, the character development is rich and easy-to-relate to. There is a good message in the text: that 'being real' is more important than thrills and that love prevails over all. This book is a quick read and would engage youth grades 5 and up.

BTW, some of the comments made by others make me realize that there are folks out there who don't know how common this sort of scenario unfortunately is. It may be meth and not grass that the parents chase after, but Storm's behavoir is all-too-common in our society with parents who breeze in and out of their children's lives as they enter and exit rehab and the revolving door of substance abuse. While Dizzy is more of a romp through hippie festivals, it would still be very easy for kids who do endure parental drug abuse to relate to the protagonist of this book and find solace in her story.

This book was horrible and completely unreal. The plot was obvious from the first few chapters, so once you knew what was going to happen, you had to live through about 25 more chapters of nothingness. I am a kid, and I found the plot obvious. An adult who reviewed this book also found the plot obvious. So, no matter what age you are, you know what is going to happen. Most of the book is spent at the first festival, and it is just the same stuff repeated over and over again. Also, they do not describe the characters well. The describe the setting well, but what do you care more about, the setting or the characters? Also, this book does not set an example for younger kids. Dizzy really looks up to Storm, even though Storm smokes and runs from the police. What kind of example is that? Also, when Dizzy's Dad finally finds her after SEVEN WEEKS, he hardly acts emotional. Ask any parent what they would do in this situation and they would tell you they would cry and hug Dizzy for hours and make sure she was okay, then go and hunt down Storm. After all, they knew she was in Goa. Also, Storm is 12 or 13, how is she so oblivious to not realize that Storm was lying? Why would you just go off with somebody who you have hardly heard of who left when you were young?

In conclusion, this books is totally unreal and stupid. I do not recommend this book for anyone.

I love this book, it gives me such a good vibe and it doesn’t get boring.

I love this book so much, I've read it dozens of times. I totally wish their was a sequel to the story.