Dicey Tillerman Timeline and Summary

Dicey cautiously settles into Gram’s house, where she's working on restoring an old sailboat she found in the barn.
She starts 8th grade in Crisfield, where she dislikes her home ec and English teachers but finds herself drawn to Mina Smiths, not that she'd ever call Mina her friend.
She goes to Millie Tydings’s grocery store to ask for a job, gets one, and starts cleaning the store every day after school and on Saturday mornings.
Dicey also becomes fascinated by Jeff, who plays guitar outside her school every day. Before long, he starts playing for her, although she doesn’t exactly realize it.
She makes an ill-fated apron in home ec class, which she dumps in the trash as soon as it’s graded (she gets an F).
She finally gets officially adopted by Gram. Boom. Instant family.
She continues trying to further the education of her siblings, most notably Maybeth, who’s having trouble reading.
When Gram takes her shopping at the mall, Dicey gets her first bra and her first girly clothes.
She finally decides to reach out to Mina and, in fact, call Mina her friend, although she still says no when Jeff asks her to the dance.
She goes with Gram to Boston and witnesses her mother’s death in a mental hospital.
After coming home to bury her mother’s ashes, Dicey finally realizes that someone can come home and leave the earth at the same time.