Middle Grade Book Review: Louisiana's Way Home
“My heart was broken into several hundred pieces, and I was walking along beside Burke Allen and dreaming of cakes as if the world were a normal place. The world spins on. It spins infinitesimally, and it never ever stops.”
★ ★ ★
In the wee hours of the morning, Louisiana Elefante is pulled out of her bed by her Granny and told just one thing-- the “reckoning” has begun. The curse of sundering that’s been looming over them for nearly a lifetime has found her and Granny. The only way to avert the tragedy? Drop everything, hit the road and drive far far away!
Louisiana doesn’t have a minute to bid her Florida town au revoir as Granny’s clunker of a car speeds past the state line to Georgia. In one fell swoop, Louisiana loses her best friends Raymie and Beverly, her animal companions Archie and Buddy, and her quaint Florida existence. All before the sunrise. Although she’s no stranger to life on the road twelve-year-old Louisiana is still dismayed that her anxious Granny is returning to her old nomadic habits. She fears that this time Granny is going to keep running.
When a medical emergency brings their road trip to a screeching halt, Louisiana and her Granny find themselves in Richford, Georgia. Desperate to reunite with her friends in Florida, Louisiana takes to the streets, exploring the small southern town and befriending everyone she meets. Asking for advice and help. Until misfortune strikes again and Louisiana discovers a distressing secret that can very well shatter her into bits.
What’s a girl plagued by goodbyes and untimely separations to do? Will Louisiana ever return home to Raymie and Beverley and break her curse?
★ ★ ★
The last time I read one of Kate DiCamillo’s books was when I was about nine-years-old. The book? Because of Winn Dixie. Now, seventeen years later (GAH) I reintroduced myself to DiCamillo’s writing with her newest novel, Louisiana’s Way Home. The award-winning author returns to her Raymie Nightingale universe with this companion novel, starring one of its most memorable supporting characters: the daydreaming songbird Louisiana Elefante.
The moment I read the synopsis and saw the cover, a gently sketched illustration of a young girl brought to life with watercolour paints, I knew I had to read this. My intuition steered me well.
Louisiana’s Way Home takes place in 1977. But the year hardly matters. With its hazy and dreamy ambiance, Louisiana’s Way Home feels timeless. Kate DiCamillo takes readers by the hand and spirits them off to a sunkissed, and sometimes strange southern town.
Richford, practically a character in and of itself, stealthily creeps into readers hearts and makes a home there. It’s inhabited by a zany cast of memorable, and colourful characters like rooftop climbing Burke Allen, a scrappy twelve-year-old boy who’s never without his crow companion, Clarence. Miss Lulu, a crabby caramel eating church organist, Reverend Obertask a walrus-like man with a grandfatherly manner, and Betty Allen a woman who’s as sweet as the cakes she’s famous for baking, also call Richford home. Each of them is crafted sincerely and has a purpose. (Even the cranky Miss Lulu!) A less deliberate and nuanced author could’ve slipped into caricature territory but in DiCamillo’s hands, the characters stay grounded in reality.
The heroine of the novel Louisiana Elephante shines with love and kindness. Louisiana has come so far from her candle in the wind days as the frail girl prone to fainting spells in Raymie Nightingale. No longer willing to bend to the whims of her granny she bravely, even almost defiantly, takes her destiny into her own hands. She models the importance of forgiveness and generosity for young readers, as well as the beauty and strength of friendship and opening hearts and minds to welcome new people in.
Reminiscent of Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter Louisiana’s boundless imagination and sense of wonderment follows her everywhere she goes. It’s as much a part of her as the blond hair growing out of her head and the song playing in her heart. Louisiana’s southern accent and her quirky way of looking at the world— both precocious and self-aware, yet also innocent and naive — makes her a standout protagonist in the world of middle grade lit.
Written in quiet, spare, and folksy prose Louisiana’s Way Home often reads as if Louisiana is living out her journey in a storybook of her own-- like her origin story (she was orphaned by her acrobat parents) and the curse’s origin story. It reputably began in Elf Ear, Nebraska when Louisiana’s great-grandfather, a stage magician, sawed his wife (Louisiana’s great-grandmother) in half during a sold-out performance. He promptly left her body there and skipped town never to be seen again.
In the pages of Louisiana’s Way Home DiCamillo creates a path leading to empathy and an awareness of the world that readers of all ages can understand. Unflinchingly exploring the deep hurt, loneliness, sadness, and desperation in Louisiana’s heart, DiCamillo subtly holds a mirror up to readers so they may see how they harbor them in their own hearts. Embroidered with Kate DiCamillo’s signature bittersweet prose while wrenching the novel is ultimately hopeful. One of the most uplifting reads of 2018, Louisiana’s Way Home has enough staying power to remain in the hands and hearts of readers for years to come.
Recommended.
Note: it’s not a problem to read this book without having read Raymie Nightingale first. Raymie and Beverly and their animal companions Archie and Buddy are mentioned sporadically throughout the novel as Louisiana pines for them and the Florida life she left behind but it’s not necessary to read Raymie first. In fact, it’s really fun to read it after and get to see the girls strong, intimate friendship blossom!
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