Although Gathering’s Catherine didn’t have an easy life, in the 1983 Newbery Award winner, Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt, 13-year-old Dicey’s story had a harder one. The story began when Dicey and her three siblings arrived at their widowed grandmother’s old house in the Chesapeake Bay area. It took most of the book to  reveal how she started at age seven to take care of her brothers and sister while their mom worked. You don’t find out what her childhood was like well into this stunning story. After reading those two, I just happened to watch Delia Owen’s coming-of-age murder mystery, Where the Crawdads Sing. I was blown away by its unexpected twists and turns.

On a bright note, Saturday’s Rochester Democrat and Chronicle had a terrific front-page article in the sports section about Slovakian hockey player, 15-year-old Nela Lopusanova. This gifted player joined Slovakia’s senior women’s league two years ago and is here to play with Bishop Kearney. Wow!

http://rokeefehistory.com/blog:  A Gathering of Days; #JoanWBlos; #DiceysSong; #CynthiaVoigt; #NewberyAward;  #WheretheCrawdadsSing; #DeliaOwen; #RochesterDandC; #NelaLopusanova; #icehockey;