Remember Dippy Blog Tour: Review

Remember Dippy
Author: Shirley Reva Vernick
Published Date: May 2013
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Genre: YA Contemporary

Description:

Johnny's plans fly out the window when he finds out his single mother is leaving town for the summer. She has a breakthough job in upstate New York. He can live with his Aunt Collette but only on the condition that he "help out with" his autistic older cousin, Remember. Yup, you heard it right: Remember Dippy. That's his cousin's name—and Remember is a gawky awkward kid with some pretty strange habits, like repeating back almost everything Johnny says and spending hours glued to the weather channel. Johnny's premonitions of disaster appear at first to come to cringeworthy fruition, but when the two boys save a bully from drowning, salvage the pizzeria guy's romance, and share girl troubles, Johnny ends up having the summer of his life.

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Remember Dippy is a light-hearted book that follows Johnny throughout his summer before high school, which was supposed to be nothing but fun with his friends. After Johnny's mom gets a big project out of state, Johnny is sent to stay with his aunt and his autistic cousin, Remember. Not only does he have to spend the summer with them, but he has to help his aunt watch over Remember while she's at work. Johnny's summer plans have gone straight down the drain as the days seem to loom ahead. As the days quickly fly by, Johnny and Remember, "Mem," bond over their adventures together including saving a bully, crushing on girls, and reviving the local pizzeria owner's romance. Not only has his summer turned out very differently than he expected, Johnny finds himself growing closer to his cousin and having the time of his life.

This was a really light and fun book that also deals with common issues with teens. Johnny is a good main character - he's an average teenage kid who loves summer break and intends on hanging with his friends. But he loves his mom and doesn't want to mess up her chance at a big project. He is loyal to his friends and family and stands up for what matters to him. I also really loved the character of Remember. There aren't many autistic characters in books, and I found that the author did a fantastic and realistic job at portraying autism and the way it effects others throughout the book. Remember is a truly unique and fascinating character and I ended up really loving him by the end of the book. I loved watching the relationship between Johnny and his cousin develop throughout the story as Johnny begins to understand Mem and his problems a bit better and even figures out ways to help with his autistic issues. The plot was fun and had some action/adventure thrown in. There was even a little romance as the boys had crushes and girl problems. The story was well written with a good pace and an easy flow. Overall, this was a quick and easy read that fans of contemporary YA fiction will be sure to enjoy.

Shirley Reva Vernick's debut novel The Blood Lie was named on the 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults list from the American Library Association. It also received the Simon Wiesenthal Once Upon a World Children's Award and Sydney Taylor Honor Book Award. Shirley lives with her husband, two daughters, and two frisky dogs in western Massachusetts. In addition to running a popular storytelling website—storybee.org—Shirley has written for Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, national newspapers, and the publications of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Boston universities.

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