One Thing for Sure - Hardcover

Gifaldi, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0899194621 ISBN 13: 9780899194622

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1986

Synopsis

A free-spirited young girl named Amy helps twelve-year-old Dylan launch a profitable sideline to supplement his income from two part-time jobs and stand up to the bullies who taunt him about his imprisoned father

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Reviews

Grade 5-8 When 12-year-old Dylan Robertson meets Amy, who is visiting her grandparents for the summer, he is deep in a funk. His former friends, led by a bully named Max, have ostracized him because Dylan's father is serving time in prison. And, although Dylan publicly defends his father, inside he feels increasing anger and shame toward him and is unable to visit him in prison. Spirited and supportive, Amy quickly becomes his best friend and helps him absorb the harrassment from Max and company. However, when Max and his friends cut the tires of a trail bike that Dylan and Amy have rented, and Dylan has to pay for the damage, his patience is sorely tried. Finally, with Amy's help, Dylan comes up with a scheme to blackmail Max and get him to confess to his crime. Then, buoyed by his success, Dylan finally meets his father in jail and they come to a mutual understanding. Unfortunately, the upbeat spirit of the story and its comic overtones are overshadowed by the didactic triteness of the plot, stilted and cliched dialogue, and predictable characters. Readers of this first novel will find the heroes, villains, and messages all in their proper place, but will find little else to satisfy them. Jack Forman, Mesa College, San Diego
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Twelve-year-old Dylan is deeply shocked and disillusioned when his father is arrested for stealing timber. Suddenly he must contend with the bullying of former pals and the suspicions of others in his small town that he, too, might be a thief. Then Dylan becomes friendly with Amy, a creative, funny girl who holds nothing against him. Through their friendship, this appealing first novel shows its mettle, wisely hinting at more than it says about males and females and different ways of settling scores. Gifaldi has great flair for figurative language, using it to show how Dylan sees and recreates his troubling world. Although the device is perhaps a bit overused, it helps to produce a fresh, sympathetic portrait of an original character.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0899194621
• ISBN 13: 9780899194622
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 172