“Blue Skies and Starry Nights”: A Review of Remember Dippy

Thirteen-year-old Johnny hopes to spend his summer swimming and hanging out with his friends in their Vermont town. But his mother must work in New York, and his father, who lives in Boston, has other priorities, so Johnny is sent across town to his Aunt Collette, who right away puts him to work. Johnny’s summer job consists of watching his older cousin, Remember, who is autistic—making sure Remember eats, gets dressed, and doesn’t wander off. Johnny thinks his summer is ruined, but Remember, who he calls “Mem”, is a video game champ who makes interesting friends in unusual places. Johnny’s ongoing battle with school rival/bully Dirk reaches a new level when Johnny is now living across the street from Dirk and Aunt Collette’s new boyfriend needs the support of Dirk’s father to start a new business. Ultimately, Johnny’s relationship with Mem helps him to see his friends, his enemies, his town, and his life in a new light.

Novels for tweens and teens are chock-full of villains and other types of unpleasant characters that test the reader’s faith in human nature. Remember Dippy is one of the few books in which every character is convincingly depicted as a decent person—even the town bully (and there are times when readers wonder if Dirk isn’t the bully but the target). The author’s ability to find merit in everyone is both refreshing and inspiring. While a major secondary character is on the autism spectrum, the novel isn’t “about” autism and despite his limitations and his ridiculous name (thank goodness for the nickname “Mem”!), Mem is portrayed as an integral part of Johnny’s crowd that also incorporates an older teenage girl with hairdressing ambitions and a complicated family situation. In this respect, Shirley Reva Vernick’s novel offers a model for inclusion and a take on life in which good intentions and a healthy dose of optimism can conquer any obstacle, and where the characters, like Mem’s favorite weather reporter, wish you “blue skies and starry nights.”