A great quick read that lightens the pain , grief felt when there has been tragedy in a family, in this case the death of a father and his 2 children in a plane crash. After her brother, sister, and father die in a plane crash, Daralynn Oakland (12- 13) receives 237 dolls from well-wishers, resulting in her nickname: Dolly. But dolls are little comfort to a twelve-year-old girl whose world is rocked by the dramatic changes in her life, including her angry, grieving mother's new job as a hairstylist at the local funeral home. Dolly gets a job, too, where she accidentally invents a fashionable new haircut. But her real work begins when a crematorium comes to town, and someone has to save a dying business, solve a burning mystery about her outgoing flashy/trashy Aunt Josie and her new gentleman friend.
As sad as this scenario is the author has written the story from Daralyn's (Dolly) voice and this has come across as lighthearted, candid somewhat humorous , innocent and it is this narrative style that makes the story enjoyable to read. Klise (author) brought the small country town and its characters to life so well that they resonated with me as they rallied around Daralyn her mother and her grandmother who had the onset of dementia. Definitely worth the time to read. ( )

Doralyn gets the idea of hosting living funerals to help bring more customers to her mothers hair salon to help pay bills. Her deceased dads sister gets involved with Clem, a man whose crematorium services threaten to wipeout the need for hairstyling. All is not as it seems however.
I don't think students will be able to relate to the older references in the book such as Ava Gardner or Catfish Hunter, and there are many students at my school who don't have funerals as they are described in this story, so they couldn't relate to the story either. ( )

This book was about a 12 year old girl named Daralynn. Her life changed after her father, brother, and little sister died in a plane crash. She was not on the plane with them because she was grounded for going fishing at the Doc Lake without her parent permission. A little after the incident people started to bring Daralynn dolls. Several change of events happening in Dolly's life. Her mom became a beautician from doing hair in a funeral home for deceased people. Dolly also did people's hair salon. Daralynn came up with the idea to have living funerals. Several things happen in this story, people were murdered, Aunt Josie fell in love and people the neighborhood start having live funerals in honor of Dolly great big idea.
I like this book because it showed how a 12 year old girl lived through a tragic experience of losing her family all except for her mother and lived to be happy. My favorite character was Dolly because she was 12 years old just like me. Dolly was smart, funny and brave. I also liked Dolly’s mother because she was brave and did not give up on life after she lost her husband and two other children. Dolly’s mother kept the family together. This book was sad but in the end it brought joy to many people. I would recommend this book to my friends to read. ( )

Good book about grief and family. I liked the characters and the setting. It didn't make me cry, so I rated it a little lower than others of this genre that I've read. I liked the way the author used grounded and its different meanings. ( )

Oh so many meanings for the title word grounded. I love the voice, reminiscent of Each Little Bird That Sings. Lots of interesting people, action and a bit of mystery too. ( )