Bloomability
Encyclopedia
Bloomability is a book written by Sharon Creech
about a young girl named Domenica Santolina Doone (or Dinnie, for short) who lives with her semi-nomad
ic family in the modern day United States of America. She is given the opportunity to attend a boarding school
in Lugano
, Switzerland
, where the majority of the storyline takes place. This school is inspired by The American School In Switzerland
, where Creech taught English.
The title, "Bloomability", comes from Keisuke, one of Dinnie's friends in the novel. Keisuke is a Japanese student at the school who is just learning English, so "bloomability" emerged as his linguistic concept of the word "possibility".
Dinnie becomes a student at the school, where she makes friends, sees new, exciting things, and has many adventures of her own. She befriends a girl named Lila, who at first seems nice but then starts complaining a lot, but Dinnie still really likes her. Dinnie also has a friend named Guthrie, a spontaneous and fun-loving "fantastico!" person. She also gets to know Keisuke and Belen, a Japanese boy and a Spanish girl, who love each other but their parents are not supportive of their relationship. The group is later joined by an Italian girl named Mari. During a "going-away" party for Lila, Lila and Guthrie get trapped in an avalanche and are saved because Dinnie watched where they fell and is thus able to locate them. Both of them survive and make a full recovery.
Intersperced in the novel are Dinnie's diary entries, postcards from her two paternal aunts informing Dinnie of what is happening with her family, and Dinnie's various attempts to communicate to the local community using signs at her window that she wants to return home. However, as the year progresses, Dinnie begins to thrive in the diverse environment and the stability of remaining in one place. At the end of the year, Dinnie's aunt and uncle give her a choice: Go home to America for the summer and come back in the fall, or go back to America permanently. It is never said what her decision was, but Dinnie keeps her skis in the closet so that she will have to come back someday.
Guthrie: Peter Lombardy Guthrie the Third, is anything but shy. This character lies next to the heart of Creech's novel - preach the Bloomabilities, possibilities and to celebrate each moment of life. Guthrie often shouts, Sono Libero, and Dinnie finally understands it was in the celebration of being alive. Guthrie is an optimistic fellow, seeing the good in everything. He also recites in the novel Robert Frost
's well known poem, The Road Not Taken
in a speech to the student body as the school year closes.
Lila: Lila King is another American Dinnie meets at the school. At first, pompous, hardheaded, somewhat prejudiced against non-Americans, and mean, but it isn't long before her true character is realized, Lila appears agreeable and quite friendly Despite Lila's unfavorable qualities, Dinnie feels the need to stick by her as a friend and defend her. Guthrie refers to Lila as "the pistol".
Aunt Sandy: Dinnie's aunt and sister of Dinnie's mother. Aunt Sandy is also a teacher at the school.
Uncle Max: The husband of Aunt Sandy, he is the headmaster of Dinnie's school (TASIS)
Keisuke: A boy who came from Osaka, Japan and Guthrie's best friend. Because English is not his first language, he often pronounces words differently (like stupid as "stew pod") and coins new words to define existing concepts (bloomability for "possibility"), which are picked up by his friends. He is good-humoured and bright.
Belen: A girl who was a roommate with Lila, and is from Madrid, Spain. She and Keisuke are in a relationship of sorts, though Belen is aware that her parents would not entirely approve of her dating a Japanese boy. She is a mature girl who comes across as somewhat moody and has strong opinions. However, she is not confrontational like Lila.
Mari: An Italian girl from Rome who joins Dinnie and her friends later in the novel, after the school's annual ski trip.
Sharon Creech
Sharon Creech is an American novelist of children's fiction.-Biography:Sharon Creech was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, where she grew up with her parents , one sister , and three brothers...
about a young girl named Domenica Santolina Doone (or Dinnie, for short) who lives with her semi-nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic family in the modern day United States of America. She is given the opportunity to attend a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where the majority of the storyline takes place. This school is inspired by The American School In Switzerland
The American School In Switzerland
The American School In Switzerland is a private school that receives elementary, middle, and high school students from many different nations and provides them with a Western-based education. Located in Montagnola, a small town above Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland, it has a current student body of...
, where Creech taught English.
The title, "Bloomability", comes from Keisuke, one of Dinnie's friends in the novel. Keisuke is a Japanese student at the school who is just learning English, so "bloomability" emerged as his linguistic concept of the word "possibility".
Plot summary
Dinnie Doone has spent most of her life traveling around the United States because her father is transiently employed. Dinnie feels that she has settled into this routine of never having a permanent home until one night, her whole world changes. With her older brother in the Air Force after ending up in jail again, her older sister pregnant and married, and her dad still on the road, Dinnie is taken away by her maternal aunt and her husband to Switzerland, where Uncle Max (her uncle) is the new headmaster of an international boarding school.Dinnie becomes a student at the school, where she makes friends, sees new, exciting things, and has many adventures of her own. She befriends a girl named Lila, who at first seems nice but then starts complaining a lot, but Dinnie still really likes her. Dinnie also has a friend named Guthrie, a spontaneous and fun-loving "fantastico!" person. She also gets to know Keisuke and Belen, a Japanese boy and a Spanish girl, who love each other but their parents are not supportive of their relationship. The group is later joined by an Italian girl named Mari. During a "going-away" party for Lila, Lila and Guthrie get trapped in an avalanche and are saved because Dinnie watched where they fell and is thus able to locate them. Both of them survive and make a full recovery.
Intersperced in the novel are Dinnie's diary entries, postcards from her two paternal aunts informing Dinnie of what is happening with her family, and Dinnie's various attempts to communicate to the local community using signs at her window that she wants to return home. However, as the year progresses, Dinnie begins to thrive in the diverse environment and the stability of remaining in one place. At the end of the year, Dinnie's aunt and uncle give her a choice: Go home to America for the summer and come back in the fall, or go back to America permanently. It is never said what her decision was, but Dinnie keeps her skis in the closet so that she will have to come back someday.
Characters
Dinnie and her family: Domenica Santolina Doone, "Dinnie," is the protagonist of the story. She is a young American teenager who is thrust into a cultured, diverse environment when she attends the international school her uncle is headmaster of in Switzerland. She is kind and friendly. With the help of her new friends, Dinnie discovers who she is, and by the end of the book has confidence in herself and in the world.Guthrie: Peter Lombardy Guthrie the Third, is anything but shy. This character lies next to the heart of Creech's novel - preach the Bloomabilities, possibilities and to celebrate each moment of life. Guthrie often shouts, Sono Libero, and Dinnie finally understands it was in the celebration of being alive. Guthrie is an optimistic fellow, seeing the good in everything. He also recites in the novel Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
's well known poem, The Road Not Taken
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim...
in a speech to the student body as the school year closes.
Lila: Lila King is another American Dinnie meets at the school. At first, pompous, hardheaded, somewhat prejudiced against non-Americans, and mean, but it isn't long before her true character is realized, Lila appears agreeable and quite friendly Despite Lila's unfavorable qualities, Dinnie feels the need to stick by her as a friend and defend her. Guthrie refers to Lila as "the pistol".
Aunt Sandy: Dinnie's aunt and sister of Dinnie's mother. Aunt Sandy is also a teacher at the school.
Uncle Max: The husband of Aunt Sandy, he is the headmaster of Dinnie's school (TASIS)
Keisuke: A boy who came from Osaka, Japan and Guthrie's best friend. Because English is not his first language, he often pronounces words differently (like stupid as "stew pod") and coins new words to define existing concepts (bloomability for "possibility"), which are picked up by his friends. He is good-humoured and bright.
Belen: A girl who was a roommate with Lila, and is from Madrid, Spain. She and Keisuke are in a relationship of sorts, though Belen is aware that her parents would not entirely approve of her dating a Japanese boy. She is a mature girl who comes across as somewhat moody and has strong opinions. However, she is not confrontational like Lila.
Mari: An Italian girl from Rome who joins Dinnie and her friends later in the novel, after the school's annual ski trip.