Candlewick Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Louisiana's Way Home. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Louisiana Elefante is the featured character in this sequel to Raymie Nightingale. When her granny spirits Louisiana away in the middle of the night because the day of reckoning has arrived, Louisiana does not worry. When they land in a small Georgia town after Granny needs a rest from painful dental surgery, Louisiana starts to wonder if she will ever see her best friends again. Faced with troubles and adults that do not understand, will Louisiana find refuge where she least expects it?

As a book designed with children in mind, I was surprised as to the level of animosity that Louisiana faces in the novel. The author never really gives the reader a clear message, a lesson learned that can help guide them through to adult years. This opportunity was wasted, as the reader is not in on the conversations between the adults that give Louisiana grief and those who are her champions. Louisiana has a clear voice and her sass tinged with wisdom beyond her young years made the book more interesting. Louisiana's Way Home is a good book, but misses the mark for me. There were just too many missing pieces and the author glossed over some details that were necessary. Children will like Louisiana's courage and strength, though, so I would recommend it to those who read Raymie Nightingale.

Loved this companion book to Raymie Nightingale. This book is told from the point of view of Louisiana, one of Raymie’s friends. Louisiana is swept away at 3 am. from her friends and home. Granny has done this before, so Louisiana isn’t worried until she realizes that Granny’s intention, this time, is to never return. What can Louisiana do to return to her friends? Her life becomes intertwined with new characters and she finds out about secrets in her past. Can Louisiana put all the pieces together again?

Cute and sad story of a little girl who has to endure too much. I never read the Raymie book, so I can’t speak to that connection. Nice middle grades pick.

Kate DiCamilo has written another brilliant book. Her character portrayals have deep. One has feelings for the characters in it.

Louisiana is traveling with her grandmother but she doesn’t know where they are going. She just knows that her family is cursed and her grandmother is trying to run from the curse. Dicamillo does it again with a beautifully written femal characters surrounded by outlandish side characters.

Kate DiCamillo is gold. I love her books, her style of writing and the deep emotional connections that the readers forges with her characters. Her secondary characters are always just as loved as her main character. Even mundane events are entertaining in her voice.

Sweet story for young readers (of all ages) of girl who, in addition to being tired of persevering, is tired of imposing, borrowing and sometimes stealing. But…"this is how we got by." When Louisiana's granny is suddenly taken seriously ill, physically and perhaps mentally, Louisiana is on her own, away from home, and has to rely on the wits her granny has honed in her, as well as the kindness of strangers. "…there is goodness in many hearts. In most hearts."

An awesome road trip for middle grade readers! Louisiana Elefante is an endearing, resourceful girl who is determined to triumph despite the odds. A quirky character with an even quirkier life, Louisiana does what she needs to do to find her way "home." DiCamillo's storytelling is superb, weaving an engaging tale that holds the reader from beginning to end. Hopeful tones ring through even through the more difficult times.

Well-written, with an authentic voice and appropriate language for the intended audience. Highly recommended for middle school students, as it gracefully explores serious topics.

I think I bookmarked every page of this book. It is filled with truisms and the plain language of Louisiana Elefante’s dialog. You just get every thing she says, everything she is feeling, the desperation and the utter devastation in her heart.

Written with a nod to the resiliency of children, you can’t help but smile at each of Louisiana’s revelations and her ability to try to solve the problems adults have heaped upon her. She deals equally with kindness and disdain. She is no stranger to hardship and being without. She has learned the gifts or respect, love and forgiveness.

Thank you NetGalley and Candlewick Press for a copy of this truly wonderful book.

Fans of DiCamillo’s Raymie Nightingale will love this continuation of Louisiana’s story!

Louisiana’s granny has always been eccentric, if not a little crazy. So, when she wakes her up in the middle of the night to leave home immediately, Louisiana is not all that worried. That is, until they cross the state line from Florida into Georgia and granny keeps driving. Realizing that granny actually intends never to return home, Louisiana starts to sulk as she realizes that she may never see her friends again. This apparently has something to do with the curse that granny always said was on their head, which also inflicts a massive toothache in granny that causes them to stop in a small Georgia town. As they stay in the town, Louisiana’s life becomes entangles with several of the townsfolk including a young boy, a pastor, organ player, and surly hotel owner. Louisiana begins to learn the truth about her life and it may shake her entire foundation.

DiCamillo’s writing never disappoints and this book is no exception. She has a way of making the reader relate to her characters and yearn to walk alongside them. Louisiana first appeared in the 2016 release of Raymie Nightingale and readers immediately fell in love with the three main characters. They will be happy to find some of them returning in this spin off that focuses on Louisiana Elefante. I love to find YA and children’s books that have a good clean story that always focuses on tough times for today’s kids. Louisiana is definitely a wayward soul that is looking for guidance from multiple people and finally realizes that she can’t do it all by herself. With wit, wisdom, laughter, and tears, this book is destined to become a classic that people will love for years to come.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Louisiana's Way Home is a sequel to Kate DiCamillo's last book, Raymie Nightingale, the first time DiCamillo has returned to a previous novel. We begin with Louisiana Elefante's grandmother and guardian whisking her away in the middle of the night, leaving home and friends behind. Louisiana resents the separation from friends and pets, all because of a purported reckoning of the family curse.

Louisiana is a character that is spunky and still pulls at your heart strings. She has a vivid personality with big feelings and heartfelt observations: "In some ways, this is a story of woe and confusion, but it is also a story of joy and kindness and free peanuts."

We follow along as Louisiana and her grandmother drive away from Florida and how they adapt when adjustments must be made to their travel plans. When they have a forced stop for some rehabilitation, Louisiana connects to the locals, making friends and foes. Louisiana, already a child who has had to shoulder more than most, learns more details about her origins and wrestles with those revelations.

Kate DiCamillo is a wordsmith and captures reality so accurately. She creates worlds where there is hurt and pain, and in spite of it all, beauty emerges. I found myself blinking away tears at the close of the book. And being reminded that people like Grandfather Burke exist in the world is everything.

(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and Candlewick Press in exchange for my honest review.)

Loved this book! I teach 4th grade and read an advanced reader copy of the book. I plan on purchasing this book for my classroom library. A heartbreaking story that I think my students would connect to. I fell in love with Louisiana and could not put the book down. Definitely a must-read for all middle-grade readers!

“In some ways, this is a story of woe and confusion, but it is also a story of joy and kindness and free peanuts.”

What happens to a person when they find out they’re not who they thought they were? Louisiana Elephante has always known who she is: the daughter of deceased trapeze artists. But she’s always had Granny to look after her. But Granny has always been a little unpredictable and when she drags Louisiana out of bed in the middle of the night, it’s more than a bit scary. Granny feels she’s been summoned to Elf Ear, Louisiana by her long-lost father. So where does that leave Louisiana? At the Good Night, Sleep Tight hotel in a small town. With Granny gone and only an upsetting letter to explain things, Louisiana is at a loss. Who is she now? What a great time for Burke Allen to come into her life and be her friend.

With a cast of characters who are quirky, but caring, Louisiana finds out that only she can decide who she is going to be. And she realizes that “perhaps what matters when all is said and done is not who puts us down but who picks us.” A delightful journey of self discovery, friendship and family.

Louisiana Elefante is woken up early one morning by her beloved granny and directed to jump into her car. She was use to such episodes but this one was different since she was told not to look back but forward, never to return. A harrowing adventure ensues when her granny is taken sick in a small town in Georgia.
Louisiana assumes the role of adult, needing to locate medical care for her granny. Ultimately, she must accept that life has forever changed and when her granny advised her to never look back, she meant it.
Di Camillo has created a story of love, reproach, and angst, which she does so magnificently. Fans of Raymie Nightingale will be delighted by this addition of Louisiana Elefante's adventure.. This is a welcomed addition to our collection, one that will certainly always be checked out.

Louisiana's Way Home is not in my age range, but teens and adults can enjoy this book alongside children because of how well it's written. Louisiana's Way Home includes a very funny and witty narrator-- the twelve-year-old Louisiana-- and a story that is inspiring as well as enjoyable from start to finish. What makes this book stand out to me is the mix of heart-warming, sad, and laugh-out-loud parts to this book. The story works even with all of these different emotions put into it because it stays realistic in terms of human emotions, which also change rapidly in real life.

I loved how this book sends a message about how home is where your loved ones are, and not just where you were born or grew up. When Louisiana is forcibly taken away from Florida by her grandmother at the very beginning of the story, she yearns for her hometown and does anything to get back-- at first. Eventually the protagonist, through some particularly absurd events, finds where her home really is. She even learns later on about her real home-- and why it may not be what she thought it was in the first place. The novel had such a good, consistent message and wrapped up nicely in the end, though there are still a few questions left unanswered.

Louisiana's Way Home is a book I would recommend to anyone, no matter if you loved Because of Winn-Dixie or even if you've never read anything by DiCamillo before. This book is everything I could have ever wanted in a middle grade novel, which is why I give it five stars.

“It is a long and tragic story full of dark alleys and twists and turns and many unexpected happenings,” I said. “And also curses. There are curses in the story.”

When Louisiana’s Granny wakes her at 3am, bundles her in the car and starts driving, Louisiana assumes this is just another one of Granny’s “middle-of-the-night ideas”. But this time Granny keeps driving and Louisiana wonders if she’ll ever see Raymie and Beverly (her two best friends), Archie the King of the Cats or one eyed dog Buddy again.

Louisiana’s story should be devastating and believe me when I tell you that parts of it are (have tissues on hand), but Louisiana’s perseverance, determination and courage transforms her story into one of hope. My main niggle was that while Louisiana did express sadness, anger and confusion about her circumstances, the extent of those very understandable feelings appeared to be glossed over on occasion in the rush to find the positive.

This is Louisiana’s second appearance in a Kate DiCamillo book but the first of Kate’s books I’ve read. After falling in love with Louisiana I’ve ordered ‘Raymie Nightingale’ from the library (I love my library!). While I could easily jump straight into reading ‘Louisiana’s Way Home’ without having already read ‘Raymie Nightingale’ I want to get to know Raymie and Beverly. I‘m keen to find out what Louisiana was up to two years ago and am very interested in learning more about Louisiana’s relationship with her Granny.

Louisiana is simply adorable and I was equally fond of many of the people she meets along the way. I also appreciated the roles the cantankerous characters played and I loved that the author was able to bring all of the characters to life, even those we only meet briefly. I want to tell you all about the different characters that I fell in love with but I don’t want to spoil anything for you so instead will encourage you to discover them all for yourself.

“In some ways, this is a story of woe and confusion, but it is also a story of joy and kindness and free peanuts.”

Louisiana’s story is ultimately one of family, friendship and deciding who you want to be. This young girl is going to find her way into the hearts of so many readers, children and adults alike. I already know that I’m going to want to reread this book once I’ve read ‘Raymie Nightingale’ and I expect that I’m going to need to read more of this author’s books as soon as possible.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Louisiana is woken at 3 am by her Granny as they pack up and head out of town. Before she realizes it they have left Florida and entered Georgia. Louisiana isn't happy about leaving home. She misses her friends and her cat and dog. They end up at a motel in a small town in Georgia where Granny has to have her teeth pulled. Louisiana is mostly on her own and ends up making friends with local boy Burke Allen. She tells him all about the curse of sundering on her family and enlists his help when Granny takes off. Granny does leave Louisiana a letter that explains her origins and breaks everything she thought she knew about herself.

I love that we return to the world of Raymie Nightingale. Louisiana was one of the shining stars of that book and she was definitely worthy of a book of her own. I do wish more would have been done with Granny's obvious mental illness and the fact that she just abandons Louisiana on her own. Learning Louisiana's history was fascinating and explained a lot about Granny. I loved that the book was set up as a story about how Louisiana was able to come to terms with Granny and what she had down and eventually forgive herself. I also loved the unconditional acceptance of the Burke Allen family. They had pure hearts and deserve to have Louisiana as part of their family.

Oh my, if I could, I would give this book more stars. Louisiana just jumps off the page and into your heart. There is just so much I adore about this book. It's deeply philosophical. It's gut wrenching. It's got heart and soul. I cried with sorrow and joy. This is a must read middle grade novel that celebrates the best in all of us.

Louisiana Elefante was introduced to readers in Raymie Nightingale. Although this book can be read as a stand alone, I would recommend you start with Raymie’s story. This book will take you on a roller coaster of emotions as you journey along with Louisiana. She’s thrown into some odd situations that she handles with strength, grit and grace. She meets interesting characters along the way, all while figuring out some of life’s challenges. This book deals with unusual friendships, wisdom beyond years and less than perfect circumstances. Life is not a fairytale and neither is Louisana’s Way Home.

More in depth review at : http://coastandanchor.com/kate-dicamillo-louisiana-rosie/