Rocky Road

Publishers Weekly

Financial troubles, bipolar disorder, and the pain of being the new kid are just a few of the themes explored in this sweet story about 12-year-old Tess Dobson, who is wise--and strong--beyond her years. She has to be: her eight-year-old younger brother, Jordan, is deaf, and her single mother, Delilah, is prone to wacky business ideas, money problems, and "Shooting Stars," Tess's term for her mother's bouts of depression. After being evicted, Delilah moves Tess and Jordan from Texas to Schenectady, N.Y.--into a retirement community. Delilah plans to open an ice cream shop, and although things are going according to plan (Tess and Jordan are making friends in school and in their new apartment complex), Tess feels uneasy: "My whole life I've wanted to trust Ma, but that's impossible if you're around her more than an hour." When Shooting Stars strike on the day of the store's big opening, Tess must rely on her new friends. Though the narrative runs long and things tie up a bit too neatly, Kent's (Kimchi and Calamari) sympathetic heroine and heartening conclusion should satisfy readers. Ages 8-12. (June)

Children's Literature - Janis Flint-Ferguson

When Tess Dobson moves from San Antonio, Texas to Schenectady, New York, she is miserable, physically and emotionally. First, the car's heater doesn't work and it is January. Second, moving means leaving her friends and a way of life she loves. Third, her deaf brother is having a hard time understanding what's going on and is acting out in frustration. Once the Dobsons settle in, Tess is having to make new friends, start a new school and get comfortable in a new apartment. As it turns out, Tess ends up in the principal's office for "attacking" a smart-mouthed boy with a pear. Their apartment is in a building inhabited by white haired retirees. But more than anything, Tess is worried about her mother; Delilah Dobson does not have a good track record with living situations or jobs. Tess has reason to worry, her mother's mission in Schenectady is to open an ice cream shop, and unbeknownst to Tess, she has already purchased a shop in a sad downtown neighborhood. The months between their arrival in Schenectady and the opening of the shop is filled with new opportunities and major setbacks. Tess finds it hard to give her mother the benefit of the doubt, but as she makes friends with peers and seniors, Tess actually begins to enjoy her new northern home. Middle grade readers will recognize the strains of the mother-daughter relationship and the struggle to fit in to new places. Tess feels that her interest in crafts separates her from her peers, but as is often the case, she finds she has more in common with her peers than she initially realizes. The intergenerational plot line is predictable but remains an important reminder that friends come in all ages. Reviewer: Janis Flint-Ferguson

VOYA - Robin Guedel

Ice cream warms the heart, no matter what the weather. At least that is what Tess Dobson is hoping for when her mother abruptly moves the family from Texas to chilly Schenectady, New York. The problem is, Tess's mother has done crazy things like this before to her and Jordan, her younger brother who is deaf. Tess's mom uses the last of the family's savings to open up an ice cream store in a bad end of town. Tess has high hopes in her new town but is also worried about her mother's manic depression. Her mother does not think she has a problem, but really needs medication. Tess and Jordan quickly make friends in the old folk's apartment complex into which they have moved. The senior residents become their extended family, while their mother frantically prepares for the grand opening of the ice cream store. Kent does a good job of creating likable characters and a fun story. It would have been nice to see more details about having a deaf sibling and the obstacles that come with that disability. Most teen girls will dive into this quick, easy read. Reviewer: Robin Guedel

School Library Journal

Gr 5–7—Tess Dobson's life is complicated. Her younger brother, Jordan, is deaf and prone to bouts of behavior as "FrankenJordan." Her mother walks the narrow ledge of bipolar disorder, a walk that always seems to end in "shooting stars" or a crash. To make things even more complicated, Ma has decided to move the family from Texas to Schenectady, NY, where she uses all of their savings to open an ice-cream shop. Despite the promises that Schenectady will hold all the answers to their problems, this new town brings its own set of complications, which include living at a senior citizens' complex. Tess struggles with these difficulties but unexpectedly finds the support she never knew she needed. Through it all, there is ice cream. This book is sweet and leaves a relatively pleasant taste much like the rocky-road ice cream that serves as a metaphor for Tess's life. Due respect is paid to the challenges of having a parent who suffers from bipolar disorder, as well as the disorder itself. Tess seems much older than her 12 years but this is in keeping with her family situation. Her involvement with peer mediation is slightly contrived but it is necessary to her growth. As the Dobsons say, "Ice cream warms the heart…," and so will this book.—Naphtali L. Faris, Saint Louis Public Library, MO

Kirkus Reviews

Yet another story about a gutsy and resourceful girl who overcomes her dysfunctional family environment with hard work and the help of her community. At 12, Tess is the primary caregiver and interpreter for her deaf younger brother; her shiftless father is absent, and her mother, Delilah, suffering from untreated bipolar disorder, makes a range of poor decisions that endangers them all. Evicted from their home in San Antonio, Texas, the family moves abruptly to Schenectady, N.Y., where Delilah hopes to open an ice-cream parlor in the depressed downtown area, and the pursuit of her scheme leads the family into even more trouble. Tess has many worries, but she perseveres, picking up some crucial problem-solving skills from her new classmates and neighbors along the way. The exaggerated Texas twang of the dialogue is grating at times, and the narrative has many bleak moments, but the story is buoyed by supporting characters who are kind, wise and relentlessly upbeat. Readers who connected with Lisa Schroeder's It's Raining Cupcakes (2010) will find this familiar terrain. (ice-cream recipes, "Ice Cream Flavors and the Inner You") (Fiction. 8-12)