Louisiana's Way Home is a companion novel to Kate DiCamillo's wonderfully subtle Raymie Nightingale. Louisiana Elfante is one of Raymie's best friends and she feels like, with Raymie and Beverley and their shared pets, that she has found exactly where she belongs. Not that her Granny cares about that when she wakes Louisiana up in the middle of the night to drag her off on a road trip because someone is after them. The pair doesn't get very fair before a dental emergency necessitates their stop in a small, Georgia town. From there, Louisiana is struggling to make sense of what is going on with her Granny and struggling to figure out how she can get back home to Florida and reunite with her friends and her pets. Louisiana finds several good-hearted, caring people along her journey and runs into some not-so-helpful and compassionate people as well. She learns things about herself and her Granny and has to figure out exactly where she calls 'home.'

I loved reading Raymie Nightingale and, like most I'm sure, I completely fell in love with Louisiana. DiCamillo created such an amazing character in Louisiana Elfante -how she talked, how she bonded with people and animals, how she interacted with the world around her. I was so excited to see that Louisiana was getting her very own story because she definitely deserved to have her story told! This novel, unlike the previous one, is told in first person in Louisiana's POV. I'm not sure that this style of narration is any better than the other but reading the story definitely reminded me of reading Because of Winn-Dixie, both in terms of the narrator's style and her interactions with those around her. Like Raymie Nightingale, Louisiana's Way Home is very subtle in the emotions it examines and the difficult truths that the characters face. I think young readers will definitely relate to Louisiana's feelings of helplessness and her frustrations with the world around her. This is a very quiet but very powerful book.

I would recommend this novel for readers of all ages and all reading levels. The language is not difficult to grasp or understand and the repetition of certain words or phrases should help struggling readers. More confident readers will get sucked into the story and will feel for Louisiana as she deals with the things she is experiencing throughout the novel. Though this is a companion novel, I didn't feel like reading the first one was necessary to understand the events of this novel or to enjoy and root for Louisiana.

Once again, Kate DiCamillo knocks it out of the park! This book is not to be missed for fans of DiCamillo or fans of middle grades lit! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This is truly a story that will not only touch the reader’s heart, but stay in their mind for years to come. The lessons that can be learned from this books are pivotal to children at the age of Louisiana (12 years old) and can serve them well through their entire lives. Being put down is a terrible feeling, but overcoming that and allowing yourself to be lifted up after being put down is an amazing feat with a beautiful outcome. Thanks NetGalley for an ARC of this great story.

I love everything kate dicamillo writes and this book is no exception. Somehow Kate knows how to write from the point of view of a child so perfectly.

Louisiana’s Way Home has all the things I’ve come to expect in a Kate DiCamillo novel:

The need to read it aloud because of the vocabulary, the rhythm, and the way chapters round off at the edges.

The need for a Kleenex.

The levity.

She has adults making decisions that are difficult to understand, let alone accept.

Her protagonist is resourceful and determined, curious and courageous.

A community knits itself together around the protagonist from characters with interesting stories of their own.

Details like state-inappropriate curtains, or the continuous renaming of the church.

The librarian is generous and kind.

There is a spirited animal we’ll come to love.

And quotes/observations like this one:

“The world was beautiful.

It surprised me, how beautiful it kept insisting on being.”

One of the many painful realities that translate from our world into Kate DiCamillo’s books is how, oftentimes, adults make decisions that are difficult to understand, let alone accept. A powerful aspect of DiCamillo’s stories is how this reality needn’t sentence the child protagonist to despair or helplessness. She inspires hope by reminding them of their resourcefulness, of their brilliance and determination. Understanding a child’s ability to draw empathic response from their peers and adults, DiCamillo collects a community around them. It is significant how the self-realization and the strengthening of community coincides. The sincerity of one relies on the sincerity of the other–which is in crisis in Louisiana’s Way Home.

Of the many adult-decision-makers we have had to navigate in DiCamillo’s books, Granny was especially difficult for me in Raymie Nightingale. The only real solace there was that Louisiana had Raymie and Beverly and her quite fierce and charming self. Between resilient protagonists and a caring community, Granny was rendered relatively harmless.

DiCamillo ups the ante on her adult-conflict-creator with this question: What if that adult-decision-maker makes some choices that are not just emotionally fraught, but physically dangerous?

“I have been made to leave home against my will.”

“That is the story of the world,” Vic said.

In Louisiana’s Way Home, Granny has a middle-of-the-night-idea that destabilizes Louisiana Elefante and puts her in serious harm’s way (more than once). She’s alone now and at the mercy of vehicular proficiency and the kindness of strangers, including the kindness of her increasingly estranged Granny. Not everyone will want to hear Louisiana’s story, or prove generous of spirit (or candy).

“I thought, I am alone in the world and I will have to find some way to rescue myself.”

Louisiana Elefante is asked to do some difficult things to survive. One of those things is to have the courage to tell her own story; to find the story of herself (seemingly by herself). If Granny has lied about something that has defined everything about who they are and how they operate, what does that mean about what she has known or can know about herself? The stories she is told heavily influence those stories she tells to her self.

Louisiana also draws on another story, Pinocchio, to make sense of herself and her situation. Pinocchio is away from home and is beset by wily figures and liars. He may even be one himself. While he hopes to return home, Pinocchio seeks out and relies on the kindness of the blue fairy. His tribulations reveal more about himself and the world around him. Pinocchio and the world becomes (frighteningly) more real, and the impact of the lies increasingly fraught. Like Louisiana, Pinocchio navigates a world endangered by distortions and harmful misrepresentation.

Like her Granny, Louisiana is a great storyteller, and she longs to couch her reality in the language of fairy tales or magical realism. The Reverend Obertask looks a bit like a walrus in her mind, and a journey through the woods takes on a proper dramatic description. The fantasy makes it seem more real, more dramatically appropriate to the situation. We long for fancy for multiple reasons; not always to escape, to capture the adventure of it all, but because it emphasizes the reality of any given situation. The fanciful can bring reality into sharp relief.

Louisiana could use relief.

“I was certainly in need of magic.”

Louisiana’s tired of “imposing” and “persevering.” And there are things she’d like to know–like the magic words to reverse the family curse–”the curse of sundering.” Spoilers, but any reader of DiCamillo has learned to get comfortable with the discomfort that there are no perfect words that will make reality easier and more understandable. Not everything can be explained, not all curses reversed–but maybe they can be discontinued.

Louisiana is, as her Granny always tells her, “wily and resourceful.”

“Perhaps what matters when all is said and done is not who puts us down but who picks us up.”

It is a grace that the novel is a letter Louisiana is writing, her story in her words. Already, that child protagonist is empowered, her voice is the one we’re hearing. She takes the conflict another has created, internalizes it, and draws her own conclusion; a conclusion that comes with the necessary influence of other capable children and adults. Her perspective is shaped by the stories she is told and the interactions she has been provided–because Louisiana cannot and should not find her way by herself; and, really, who can–or should?

This is a road trip book, sort of. But, unlike the usual road trip books, Lousiana and Granny only go so far, before they stop, and have all the action take place in the small town they end up in.

Granny is running from a curse. Lousiana thinks she is also running from the same curse, even if she doens’t understnad why.

I love the voice of Louisiana. She says profound things, without, probably, realizing how profound they are.

<blockquote>three semis drove past us. One was painted with a picture of a cow standing in a field of green grass. I was jealous of that cow because she was at home, and I was not. It seemed like a very sad thing to be jealous of a fake cow on the side of a truck. </blockquote>

And, this quote about Clarence the Crow, whom she thought she might like to be, with not a care in the world.

<blockquote>But Clarence probably had cares . Because that is what it means to be alive on this infinitesimally spinning planet. It means you have cares.</blockquote>

And then, other times, she just wants to eat a candy bar, just like any normal 11 year old would want.

It is a delightful book abouat families and friendships.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Welcome to the world of middle grade fiction, Louisiana Elefante. Your story is told with such grace and I happily devoured it in less than a day. If you loved Raymie Nightingale, you have to get to know Louisiana immediately. Highly recommended!

Thank you to Candlewick Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this upcoming publication.

"It is a dark day when you do not believe your granny.
It is a day for tears.
I started to cry."

I would have to type the entire contents of this novel into this review in order to highlight the amount of cleverness expressed through this adorable, heartbreaking girl named Louisiana Elefante.

It’s 3 a.m., and Louisiana is not sleeping like she should be. She’s fleeing a curse, involuntarily, with her granny from Central Florida about 6 hours north through to Georgia. Louisiana’s granny drags her all over a strange town, where she thrusts her onto strangers, some who greet her kindly-and some who do not. While Louisiana resents her granny for this, and vows repeatedly to never speak or be considerate to her granny ever again, she acts remarkably like the woman when she goes up against the local receptionist at the dentist’s office, the secretary at the church, and the owner of the motel.

Every story DiCamillo tells seeps into the reader’s heart and wrenches it before the end. Louisiana’s Way Home is no different. In it, DiCamillo gives us a tale of mystery, suspicion, intrigue, and relief all from the mind of our very grown up little girl. Many children in poverty think like Louisiana, always wondering what only grown-ups should wonder and worrying about things only grown-ups should have to worry about. I look forward to recommending this to my local library and every middle-grade reader I see.

A charming tale of a young girl who is yanked away from everything she knows,..and then things get worse. While this is a book for children, adults can certainly benefit from reflecting on how the various adults little Louisiana meets interact with her and do or don’t prove helpful. The story is told in Louisiana’s strong, easy-to-love voice and the pictures she paints of the other characters, and the empathy she shows, make the read both meaningful and delightful.

Thanks, NetGalley, for an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review

Always nice when an author takes a character from a book and gives he/she their own book! This is a beautifully written story - magical is ways and would be most enjoyable for middle grade.

I am a big fan of Kate DiCamillo and was so pleased to be given a digital ARC of this title via netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a cute, touching story. I had not read (or heard of) Raymie Nightingale before I received this where the character of Louisiana is introduced, but I still thoroughly enjoyed reading her own story. It is a simple to read story that quickly draws you in to the characters and into the story. I was immediately invested and wanted to find out what would happen after her grandma wakes her in the middle of the night to flee to another state. Louisiana's journey is a touching, sweet, and sometimes humorous tale of friendship and finding home in where you belong and where you are loved. I am a school librarian and definitely want this in our library as soon as it becomes available. I would happily recommend this to young readers and think they would really enjoy reading it.

I read this over the summer when I needed something light, whimsical and almost magical. I enjoyed Flora & Ulysses and The Tale of Despereaux also by Kate DiCamillo, so I had a rough idea that I was in for a real treat with this one.

The blurb above tells you what takes place for Louisiana, she is only 10 years old as she tells her story, of being pulled out of bed in the middle of the night and the terrible curse that seems to be following them. She is quite the character with a vivid imagination, vocabulary beyond her years and amazing reasoning skills. I loved Louisiana, she made me smile and I just wanted to give her a hug (along with some milk and cookies).

Louisiana's Way Home was a delight to read, it's a story of self-discovery, hope, and forgiveness. Told with wit and compassion, Kate DiCamillo has landed as one of my favorite children's author.

~~~~~~~~~~
“Perhaps what matters when all is said and done is not who put us down but who picks us up”
~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you to the publisher (via NetGalley) for an advanced e-arc.

I had the opportunity to read a NetGalley digital ARC of this middle grade novel in exchange for a review. As a big fan of Kate DiCamillo’s writing, I was very excited to read this book. This continuation of the story that was started in Raymie Nightingale, takes us into the world of Raymie’s friend, Louisiana Elefante.
Two years after the events in Raymie Nightingale, Louisiana’s world is turned upside down when her granny awakens her in the middle of the night, with suitcases packed, to drive north. Along the way, a dental emergency forces them to stop in a small town in Georgia. As Granny recovers in a motel room, Louisiana makes friends that will be her only help when she suddenly finds herself all alone in the world.
One of the things I love about Kate DiCamillo’s writing is the journeys of self-discovery that her characters undertake, resulting in a sense of hope, self-confidence, and understanding of others. The attention to detail in the development of characters and plot lines results in such juicy, honest moments that the reader wants to learn everything possible about the backgrounds of everyone in the story. I would love to read a book on all of the others in this book: Bernice, Lulu, Burke Allen, Reverend Obertask, etc.
This middle grade novel comes out in October and it will definitely appeal to fans of Raymie Nightingale. It will also appeal to fans of historical fiction, as the story takes place in October of 1977.

Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo is a beautiful, at the same time pretty intense children's book, where sentiments, human conditions are displayed pretty vividly and vibrantly.
To me this character is new and I was so happy of being approved by Candlewick for reading this book. It will be released this October 2.
As I said you, thematic that your children will find in this book are very important and serious.
The story is just apparently light.
The opening: the granny of Louisiana Elefante must leave at 3 o'clock of the night; her family has been cursed decades ago and this curse generation after generation follows her. It's a honest and serious curse, you see. Louisiana must follows her.
Louisiana is sad because at home she left two friends, a dog with an eye and her cat.
In a way or in another they are " interrupted" on the road by lack of..gasoline and sore tooth.
Her granny needs a dentist.
The dentist will remove the tooth and later a motel will be indispensable for her for recovering.
In the while Louisiana meets another kid; someone named Burke Allen. Everyone in his family was named Burke Allen; his dad, his grand-dad, his great-grand-dad, so substantially if Louisiana is unique and she will continue to live with her unicity also thanks to her name, Burke goes on with a perennial repetition of the same name per generations and generations. Yes, there was some lack of originality in the Allen's family. He lives in a pink house where his mother bakes delicious cakes, diversifying every day.
Burke's got a crow, Clarence, affectionate to Louisiana. The kids climb on trees together; Burke is nice; he feeds her thanks to a vendor machine in the motel and some...tricks; one day, the granny of Louisiana leaves the motel. Alone. Well, with the car. Toothless and still in pain.
Why did she leave her behind?
She left a letter for Louisiana.
A long letter with a shocking explanation. They're not related. She rescued her, abandoned by unknown people, she grew her up.
The important thematic of being abandoned, adopted, and the research of identity passes also through the idea that, that granny who stayed close to Louisiana, who grew her up, is now like a stranger. In a blink of eyes, the kid had to cope with a reality more big than what she would have imagined and with nasty, confused sensations and feelings about her "granny." And her identity.
Speaking of this story with a priest and with the family of Burke, she will discover that after all it's not important who she is related with and who her parents or relatives are but who she is and who she wants to become.
And Louisiana will find her way.
The title of this book "Louisiana's Way Home" is a metaphor of home, intended not just like a building (although there is a beautiful happy end) but like the emotive, and rational sphere one, that Louisiana discovers and will build along her way, accepting her past, embracing the present and her future.

Intense, dreaming highly recommended for sure to everyone!

I thank NetGalley and Candlewick for the eBook.

Kate DiCamillo is back! Her latest novel begins with twelve-year-old Louisiana and her granny heading north in the middle of the night, leaving Florida and her friends and a cat and Buddy the one-eyed dog behind without telling any of them good-bye. Louisiana’s Way Home (due out October 2) tackles the most complex of issues such as abandonment and loneliness with DiCamillo’s signature humor and tenderness. Read this when you are the mood for a modern-day fairy tale with a plucky heroine and great cast of supporting characters including a motel owner with hair perpetually in curlers, a church organ player who smells like unshared caramel candy and a small town boy with a pet crow named Clarence. It is Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White meets Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson. A heartbreakingly irresistible read aloud that you will enjoy as much as your kids do. Best paired with bologna and orange cheese and mayonnaise on white bread with pineapple upside-down cake for dessert.

Kate DiCamillo is one of those authors whose books constantly leave me wanting more. She is an amazing story teller. This book has themes of family, forgiveness, hope and healing

The story is well told in the ten-year old Louisiana's voice. It 's easy for young readers to understand and relate to. I'm sure this is why it is so attractive to young readers (or listeners).

This is a great middle reader. Or a read aloud book for younger children. Ms. DiCamillo has a special way of writing about difficult situations. I believe by reading this to younger children, questions may come up and can be discussed.

The author has a simple, quiet, whimsical style that sets her apart from other writers.

Louisiana is a spunky, funny, full of life ten year old, who has seen and been through more than any child should have to endure. Yet she has kept her wonderful spirit. Throughout the book she refers to life lessons she has been given by Granny, this may be part of her strength.

I loved Louisiana, she stole my heart. I so enjoyed reading this book and have gone back to read everything Kate DiCamillo has written.

Kate DiCamillo is such an extremely talented children's writer.

I received a copy of this book from Candlewick Press through NetGalleys. The opinions expressed in this book are my own.

I was so excited to see a new book from Kate DiCamillo after recently reading and loving Because Of Winn-Dixie. I am happy to say this book lived up to my expectations.

I very much loved Louisiana for her wonderful innocent but curious & strong personality. It shows throughout the book that she is much stronger then you can expect a young girl to be. But also shows vulnerability of needing and wanting to be loved and cared for. I also enjoyed Granny even when I was unsure of her in the beginning. She has a hard exterior but defiantly a thoughtful and caring women on the inside.

I enjoyed following along on this adventure that Louisiana has to embark on to find her own identity in this world. I think this will be another big hit!

Thank you NetGalley, the editor and the author for giving me the chance to read an advanced copy of this wonderful novel.

What a luminous, sparkling gem of a book with quirky, complex characters and an enthralling, emotionally resonant plot! Granny drags Louisiana out of bed in the middle of the night, insisting that they leave their home to confront the family curse. Not only does Louisiana not want to leave her friends and home, things get even worse when Granny abandons Louisiana at a motel along the way. Forced to fend for herself, Louisiana figures out how to survive miles from home while worrying that the family curse has destined her for an unhappy life.

Absolutely adorable, although I expected no less from the sensational Kate DiCamillo. Louisiana Elefante is a character that middle grade readers will understand and fall in love with. Coincidentally, so will adult readers if my reaction is any indication. DiCamillo writes a character who is brave and kind, while still showing her youth. She writes Louisiana in a way that makes you proud of how strong she is standing, but also remember that she still need someone to care for her. I'm telling you, I fell hard for this girl. It was inevitable.

I can't say too much more without giving something crucial away, so I'll wrap things up. This is one of those stories that toes the line of magic, but exists firmly and beautifully within our own world. It's a story made up of people are flawed,and alive. Any author that can write for young people and still manage to put real world problems in front of their readers has my heart. Kate DiCamillo continues to prove that she is more than capable of that very thing, and I love her for it.

A tremendously touching book from DiCamillo. This is a middle grade gem.

DiCamillo always deals with some heavy, emotional issues that often affect children. Despite this, she manages to retain so much of the child who serves as narrator in order to fully capture the depth and all-consuming turmoil in the story. She writes about children and for children brilliantly.

In Louisiana's Way Home we have the continuing story of Louisiana Elefante, one of the friends of Raymie's who first appeared in Raymie Nightingale. Louisiana is a little flaky in Raymie Nightingale, but darling and sweetly innocent. She has that ethereal quality like a Luna Lovegood.

Over the course of the story, dealing with both abandonment and identity issues, DiCamillo deftly and expertly pieces together a sad but hopeful tale for Louisiana, who has abruptly left Florida in the middle of the night with her granny. They make it to a small town in Georgia before Granny stops because she needs emergency dental care. Along the way and during Louisiana's stay in this small town, DiCamillo writes moments of both tenderness and despair that I was completely engrossed in this darling novel.