Homecoming (theme+summery, links+displays, and characters)

The book that i had chosen for this blog is called Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt. I am only 42 pages in, but it is getting interesting. So far I know that a mother hasn't payed any bills, can't afford food, has no alive supporting husband, and has four mouths to feed. In the middle of the night the mother wakes the children from sleep and tells them to pack clothes while she makes sandwiches. They go on a trip to see their Great- aunt Cilla whom has been know to be very wealthy. On their trip the mom stops the old car to go into a mall. She tells the children to listen to Dicey (main character and the oldest, about 13 tops) and she loves them. She left and didn't come back. the children, unaware, figure this out hours later as they look for her to no avail. They altogether have less than ten dollars to survive. They know they can't go back to the house, because the property owner is looking for the money they owe, they drove into another state far away, and it is a possibility that they could get better care at their Great-aunt's Cillia's house. Dicey has a map and is in charge, so she figures to go to their Great-aunt's Cillia's house. Because of the little children that are traveling with them, they can only go around eight miles a day. It will take more than two weeks to get to their Great-aunt's Cillia's house. They are running low on money to buy food that will last, like a bundle of banana's and package of doughnuts. And to add to the tensions of family and chaos, the second eldest (James) always says three words when he wakes up, "It's still true." With these words he reminds everyone of the horrible thing their mother did to them.
As you already know, i haven't finished the book, so i can't give a correct theme to the text, but if I were, I would say 'Though family changes, it can unexpectedly surprise you.' I use this because you can see changes in the characters actions and moods throughout the story and the mother surprisingly left suddenly, without warning.
The characters in this story have not been directly stated in the very beginning, like most books, but later when they are relivent to what is going on in the story. For instance when the author mentioned that one of the children was sleeping soundly next to the other child, then she described the child-like features of the girl.
To find this book, click on this link to goodreads.com -> Homecoming