Book Review of Bloomability
The contemporary realistic fiction book I chose to read was Bloomability. This book was written by Sharon Creech and was published in 1998 by Harper Trophy of HarperCollins Publishers Inc. It was written on the reading level of ages 8 - 12, or grades 5 8. Bloomability has won the following awards: IRA/CBC Children 's Choices 1999, Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award 1998, and Chicago Public Library Best Books 1998.
Sharon Creech uses her life as a basis for many of her books, and Bloomability is no exception. Bloomability is set mostly at a boarding school in Switzerland, and Creech lived in Europe for almost twenty years. Her husband was a headmaster at a school in Switzerland, and she was an English teacher there (Courtot). These aspects of her life are very apparent in the book. She relates her experiences in Europe and all the places she visited within the book. Creech also makes many references to Kentucky in the book, as she has family from Kentucky and has visited the state many times (Creech). Bloomability is a book about a young girl, Domenica Santalina Doone, (Dinnie for short) who has moved at least twelve times in her thirteen years of life. Her father moves his family from town to town looking for opportunities to make a better life for them. By the time Dinnie is thirteen, her brother is in jail and her sister is pregnant. Dinnie 's mom sends her off with her aunt and uncle, hoping to save her from a similar fate. Dinnie 's "second life" begins as she moves to Switzerland with her aunt and uncle to attend an international school, where her uncle is the headmaster and her aunt is a teacher. The book examines Dinnie 's life as she is taken away from everything she knows and given a fresh start at in a new country. Dinnie misses her family, wonders why they do not contact her, and begins to love her new life with her new friends. Dinnie is conflicted because she is constantly questioning where she belongs in life.
Sharon Creech uses her life as a basis for many of her books, and Bloomability is no exception. Bloomability is set mostly at a boarding school in Switzerland, and Creech lived in Europe for almost twenty years. Her husband was a headmaster at a school in Switzerland, and she was an English teacher there (Courtot). These aspects of her life are very apparent in the book. She relates her experiences in Europe and all the places she visited within the book. Creech also makes many references to Kentucky in the book, as she has family from Kentucky and has visited the state many times (Creech). Bloomability is a book about a young girl, Domenica Santalina Doone, (Dinnie for short) who has moved at least twelve times in her thirteen years of life. Her father moves his family from town to town looking for opportunities to make a better life for them. By the time Dinnie is thirteen, her brother is in jail and her sister is pregnant. Dinnie 's mom sends her off with her aunt and uncle, hoping to save her from a similar fate. Dinnie 's "second life" begins as she moves to Switzerland with her aunt and uncle to attend an international school, where her uncle is the headmaster and her aunt is a teacher. The book examines Dinnie 's life as she is taken away from everything she knows and given a fresh start at in a new country. Dinnie misses her family, wonders why they do not contact her, and begins to love her new life with her new friends. Dinnie is conflicted because she is constantly questioning where she belongs in life.
Cited: Courtot, Marilyn. "Sharon Creech." Children 's Literature. . Creech, Sharon. "Biography." Sharon Creech. . Solonika, Peg. School Library Journal 44, no. 10 (October 1998): 132, 135.