Grounded

 

Grounded 

Kate Klise

Feiwel & Friends

Summary: 

After her brother, sister, and father die in a plane crash, Daralynn Oakland receives 237 dolls from well-wishers, resulting in her nickname: Dolly. But dolls are little comfort to a twelve-year-old girl whose world is rocked by the dramatic changes in her life, including her angry, grieving mother’s new job as a hairstylist at the local funeral home.

Dolly gets a job, too, where she accidentally invents a fashionable new haircut. But her real work begins when a crematorium comes to town, and someone has to save a dying business, solve a burning mystery, and resuscitate the broken hearts in Digginsville, Missouri, population 402.

Thoughts: 

For years, the six Oakland's have put down roots in their small community. A plane crash tears up their family leaving twelve year old Daralynn and her mother behind. They stumble. Loose their footing. They balance life differently. Daralynn roots down seeing life events as "BC"(before the crash) and "AD"(After the deaths) often writing letters to her deceased father and siblings in her Pertinent Facts & Information handbook while her mother rises up and throws herself into a new job working as a hairdresser for the local funeral home and leaving Daralynn by herself. Ashes aren't the only thing  being divided across the area. When a new crematorium opens up and the mysterious Mr. Clem sweeps up Daralynn's Aunt Josie, it divides the town and the family. Left to her own devices, Daryalynn unearths a mystery, accidentally discovers a new hairstyle, and creates plans to save the family business.

Grounded provides something to sink your feet into with clever plot twists and newly seeded ideas like Living Funerals. The characters are endearing and you can't help but attach to everyone of them especially Daralynn. Kate Klise has penned a story which seeps into the cracks of your heart so the words can make their way inside. 

Rating: 5/5

I received this book complimentary from my local library.