Dicey's Song — Cynthia Voigt

You have to reach out to your family. Put your hand out. If they slap it back, well, you reach out again -- If you care enough...

Gram's words took hold of Dicey and hugged her 13-year-old mind. Of course Dicey knew it was true.

Hadn't she taken charge of the younger children when their mother abandoned them? Hadn't she shepherded them safely all the way from Provincetown to Chesapeake Bay to their grandmother's house? You can't do that without caring.

Now they had found a safe harbor and it was truly a new beginning...