Even though Bobbie Lynn moves all over the country because her dad is in the army, she never likes moving and having to make new friends. When her father gets sent to Vietnam, and the family moves from Texas to Washington State so they can all be near him before he ships out, Bobbie Lynn worries. She's too big and she's shy and, to top it all off, she has a weird haircut that the kids at her new school make fun of.

But that's not all Bobbie Lynn worries about. Without her father around, Bobbie Lynn's mother, who has always been a little delicate, seems even more so. Bobbie Lynn and her older brother Mason are scared. They don't know when their dad is coming home, and they don't know what to do about their mother --- all they know is that they promised their father they'd take care of their mother. Even if it means stealing food, Mason and Bobbie Lynn will keep their promise and their secret.

Then Bobbie Lynn befriends an odd girl named Wendy Feeney, who's everything Bobbie Lynn isn't. She's small, but she talks back when she gets picked on. And she says strange things, like swearing that everyone has a guardian angel. Well, if that's true, then where, Bobbie Lynn wonders, is her guardian angel?

This book is an interesting look into what it's like having a father in the army. But more than that, it's a look into living with a parent who has a mental illness. Because Bobbie Lynn feels disloyal getting help from anyone, as if her mother is her responsibility, her love gets in the way of what's best for her family. DOVE SONG is a novel about love and about family and what holds it together. And, as it turns out, it just may be about finding your guardian angel.

--- Reviewed by Katie Torpie

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