MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX

on our shelf
Ages 10 +
Remember Dippy
By Shirley Reva Vernick
Cinco Puntos Press
www.cincopuntos.com
40
P R E M I E R E I S S U E : F A L L 2 0 1 3
“My cousin Remember
is what polite people call
different. I call him weird.
He’s the reason I have to get
up so early, the reason I got
into it with Dirk the Jerk,
the reason I’m always late to
meet my friends, the reason
my whole summer’s going to
be a bust. This was definitely
going to be a disaster.”
When Johnny’s mom takes a job in New York, Johnny winds
up at his Aunt Collette’s house for the summer looking
after his older cousin Remember. Yes, that’s his name:
Remember Dippy. Mem for short. Mem isn’t your typical
teenager. He is high-functioning autistic, prone to tantrums, brilliant at
video games, and fiercely loyal to his friends.
At first Johnny is anything but happy about spending his vacation toting
Mem with him everywhere he goes, especially when he’s trying to
catch the attention of Jo, his friend Mo’s sister, but after some unexpected
turns of events Johnny begins to see Mem, and some other people in
his neighborhood, a little bit differently.
Remember Dippy, his cousin Johnny, and all the characters from
Hull, Vermont, hooked my interest from the very first page. These are
normal kids facing not-so-normal situations, like rescuing the neighborhood
bully from a near-drowning, or helping the local pizza owner fish
an engagement ring out of a floor vent. Even Mem’s beloved pets, two
furry ferrets, are unusual. But that’s what makes this story so compelling.
It’s a fast read about false assumptions and the importance of accepting
people for who they are, something Johnny discovers over the course of
this little gem of a story.
The book is listed as Young Adult because the characters are in
their mid-teens, but this story is perfectly accessible and appropriate
for younger readers. With no profanity or other “mature” material,
Remember Dippy is a book I can recommend with confidence.