Cast of Characters
Momma: The mother of James, Dicey, Sammy, and Maybeth
Dicey: The oldest Tillerman child, at age 13
James: A ten-year-old boy; smart (and always hungry!)
Maybeth: The quiet younger sister of James and Dicey (Sammy's older sister); age nine
Sammy: The youngest Tillerman; age 6; he fights
Aunt Cilla: Momma's aunt who lives in Bridgeport
Stewart: A college student who takes in the Tillerman's for a day and brings them to Aunt Cilla's house
Windy: Stewart's roommate
Cousin Eunice: The Tillermans' cousin; Aunt Cilla's daughter
Gram: The Tillermans' Grandmother
Synopsis
The book started off with a farewell from Momma. She had driven the children (oddly, in the middle of the night) to the mall; they were on their way to Aunt Cilla's house. The Tillerman family had to deal with numerous problems mainly based on money, food, and shelter, throughout the whole book. Trudging their way across the state of Conneticut, with many difficulties along the way, the final lap was completed with the help of Stewart and Windy, two college students that the bedraggled family ran into one evening. The last lap, therefore (much to the relief of the children) did not have to be walked; Stewart dropped them off at Aunt Cilla's house from his car. Much to the childrens' disappointment, the house was small and rather bedraggled itself, rather than being a fancy white house next to the ocean. Even more disappointing was that Aunt Cilla was not there at all; rather, their Cousin Eunice was living at the house, as Aunt Cilla had died. Cousin Eunice did her best to take care of the children, but eventually, Dicey began to feel nervous because of several things: Cousin Eunice, as well as the nuns at the church camp Maybeth was attending, were worried about, actually, Maybeth's general sanity. It had been discovered that Momma was at a mental hospital herself, and it seemed that everyone had theories on this being hereditary. Sammy was a matter of concern as well, as he fought constantly at camp. Yet another problem was that Cousin Eunice, although she fully realized the duty she needed to do, taking care of the children, was saddened by the fact that she would never realize her dream of being a nun. All of this was too much for the Tillermans, and they took off once again -- this time, to Crisfield, Maryland, where Dicey had found out their grandmother lived. Buying bus tickets this time, they eventually (again through many hardships) found their way to their grandmother's house -- she was also said to be crazy. The Tillermans, especially Dicey, worked hard around her house, because their grandmother -- who had not yet given the children a name to call her by -- did not want them to stay, and Dicey wanted everyone to make themselves as useful as possible, and each day when their grandmother asked if it was time for them to be "moving on", Dicey would remind her that a specific chore-related project was not yet done. The Tillermans' grandmother arranged for the chidren to be sent back to Bridgeport, where Cousin Eunice would again take care of them, but Dicey didn't really want this. For a nice climax to this book, "Gram", as she said she could be called, finally relented and let the Tillermans stay with her, permanently.
Reviews
"This first novel is about an abandoned 'family,' four children ages 6 to 13 . . . With $11 and change, little adult help and a great deal of adult hindrance, the four make their way from Rhode Island to Connecticut on the strength of courage, resourcefulness, good camping instincts and the sheer will to stay together and find a home . . . This is a glowing book . . . An enthralling journey to a gratifying end."--New York Times Book Review.
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