In my opinion, Kate DiCamillo can do no wrong when it comes to writing. Her books all have a wonderful mix of imagination and heart, and Louisiana's story is no exception. I would recommend this to readers from 9 to 109.

I am reviewing an ARC of this book that I received from the publisher through NetGalley.

I enjoyed this story but feel that I must go back and read Raymie’s story so that I can understand Louisiana’s character a little better. I read this book and as a teacher I unfortunately was able to think of a couple of students who actually live like this with guardians who have no money and con others into helping them and seem to pick up and leave town on a whim with thoughts of school the furthest thing from their minds.

I was excited to be given the chance to read a Kate DiCamillo book by NetGalley and Candlewick Press. It’s been so long since I’ve read one of hers, but I do remember enjoying her storytelling.

Louisiana is a young girl who is easy to sympathize with, especially toward the end of the book where the reader is given more of her story. She is funny, brave, a good friend, and the type of person you’d want to spend time with. There were times when you could feel her pain and confusion, and other times when you could feel her longing for a home. Unfortunately, since the focus being on Louisiana, the reader doesn’t get to know anyone else, making the rest of the characters fairly one-dimensional.

Due to being a short children’s/middle grade book, the storyline was simple and easy-to-follow. Right from the beginning, my attention was captured as Louisiana was dragged by her grandmother on a trip, away from everything the young girl is used to and loves. However, toward the middle, I didn’t find myself as captivated. Throughout, the reason for leaving didn’t really make sense to read. Even after the “explanation” was given, it seemed fairly loose and unrealistic. It was also difficult to tell how serious the “explanation” was supposed to be, and for a while, I kept thinking this book was going to turn into a fantasy read any moment. It didn’t, but this plot point was misleading.

There was something else that bothered me. A little girl in trouble and it took a while before anyone realized that she needed help seemed unrealistic. It was probably because Granny’s arc, if you can call it that, just seemed too far-fetched. Also, perhaps since the story is kind of quirky, which I didn’t care for, could be why some didn’t realize how much help Louisiana needed.

To end more positively, I did like the format of the book. It is a story that Louisiana is writing down and sharing. Toward the middle, I forgot that she was writing the story down and read it more like a book. At the end, though, the author wraps the story nicely, letting the reader know who Louisiana is addressing.

Overall, this was a fine read for me, but I felt it lacked in sensibility and character development. I would recommend this to children who enjoy somewhat quirky stories about a character trying to find a place to call home.

Relationships are complicated; realizing your identity is complicated, and both of these life experiencescare treated with seriousness, compassion, and humor in Dicamillo'd latest work. Louisiana's life story is bizarre: a child of trapeze performers and decendent of a "suffering" curse, she is raised by her Granny who packs there bags on night to journey from Florida to Nebraska so Granny can face the curse. Little does Louisiana know that her life and who she is will change forever after a dentist appointment, meeting a no with a wild pet crow., and tasting some cakes.

I loved this book! Thank you Candlewick and Net Galley for the free review copy. Louisiana Elefante made her debut in DeCamillo's Raymie Nightingale. This book gives Louisiana a chance a to shine. She finds herself on a bit of an adventure with her grandmother that leaves her questioning her place in the world. Louisiana's character and voice are so engaging I read the book straight through. Though sad at times, this a story of finding oneself, friendship, and hope. Readers will find Louisiana likable and relatable, and they'll be cheering her on throughout the story.

I'm excited to hear this book as an audiobook version. It was a nice story of a girl finding her way to a new family when she is once again left behind by people in her life. I did not connect as emotionally to the people in her new life--as I did to those in Winn-Dixie, for example--but I think part of that was the lack of an audiobook version. It is still a good story of a young girl finding people who will care about her.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Readers first met Louisiana Elefante in Raymie Nightingale. I'm so happy that Kate Di Camillo felt the need to tell more of Louisiana's story. Louisiana was used to living an unusual life with her Granny. They moved a lot and often weren't able to pay their electric bill or buy food. One day, Granny suddenly takes her away from the home she had come to love and her friends and her cat. Shortly after they stop in Georgia, Granny leaves Louisiana behind with nothing but a note. Left, to find her own way, Louisiana tried to discover who she really is and what she wants to do. She is a charming girl who has her own little quirks, a talent for singing and a lot of heart.

Kate DiCamillo tells more of Louisiana's story, one of her characters from Raymie Nightingale, in a novel that can be read as a stand alone.

Louisiana's Granny woke her in the middle of the night and they started to drive away from her friends, her cat, her home. Louisiana is not sure where they are going, but it becomes clear they are not going back. They stop in Georgia, at the Good Night, Sleep Tight hotel and it is here that Louisiana finds out truths about her life that change everything.

Louisiana's story is one of transformation. She discovers who she is and finds her place in the world. There is sadness in Louisiana's life, but out of that sadness grows hope. This is a story about family and friendship and home. It gives a lot for the reader to think about including the power of kindness and forgiveness.

There is a whimsical quality to Kate DiCamillo's writing. Louisiana's voice shines as she observes life and those around her. She's a character with spunk and resilience who readers will be rooting for from the first page.

Both beautiful and hopeful, Louisiana's Way Home is a book that will tug at your heart strings.

I remember 8 years ago when I finished reading Kate DiCamillo’s masterpiece, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I was in a cafe in Union Square, NYC. As I read the last chapter, I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. 

It was a beautiful moment.

Today, I had a similar experience. Sitting in a cafe in Montclair, NJ, I just finished Ms. DiCamillo’s latest book, Louisiana’s Way Home. Tears race down my face as a heaviness sits in my heart. But I feel hope. Just like with Edward Tulane, I feel hope. 

Louisiana’s Way Home picks up two years after Raymie Nightingale, a book that Ms. DiCamillo published in 2016. Louisiana Elefante has been woken up in the middle of the night by her grandmother, who insists that they must leave Florida immediately to escape the family curse. (This book stands on its own, even if you haven’t read Raymie Nightingale.) What follows is a “long and tragic story full of dark alleys and twists and turns and many unexpected happenings…and also curses. There are curses in the story.” Through all of this, Louisiana has to fight to remember that “perhaps what matters when all is said and done is not who puts us down but who picks us up.”

Kate DiCamillo is a gifted writer. She can weave deep, sad stories by arranging and rearranging various combinations of twenty-six letters. 

Readers young and old, if you have never picked up one of Kate DiCamillo’s books, you must do yourself a favor and add that to your to-do list. Read one. Read them all. It doesn’t matter, as long as you experience the gift that is Kate DiCamillo.

***************

Appropriate for grades 4-6.

Publisher: Candlewick

Release Date: October 2, 2018

I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Authentically teaching children about resilience, compassion, and integrity through writing can be difficult- unless you’re Kate DiCamillo. For her, these themes are lyrically expressed in Louisiana’s Way Home in a way that is perfect for middle grade and young adult readers. Louisiana Elephante, from previous novel Raymie Nightingale, and her Granny are moving across the Florida line to Georgia- much to Louisiana’s dismay. Orphaned as an infant, Louisiana and her witty grandmother tackle life together, until the day Louisiana discovers something about her past. Using the tenacity and determination her grandmother bestowed upon her, Louisiana is able to overcome a great loss, and find her way home.

Kate DiCamillo is a auto-buy author in my book. There hasn’t been a character yet that I have not completely fallen in love with. Winn Dixie and Edward Tulane make their ways into my classroom each year, and Mercy the Pig introduced my daughter to chapter books. She takes the themes of loss, loneliness, and friendship and wraps them up in a bow of sensitivity.

Louisiana’s Way Home is no different. I found myself rereading paragraphs because they were so beautifully written. As I write this I find myself formulating questions that will be used during discussion when I teach. DiCamillo has an uncanny ability to use colorful vocabulary and seemingly insurmountable tasks, and perfectly teach social issues. Once again, this DiCamillo novel hits the bull’s eye.

Meet Characters Who Will Beg You To Keep Turning The Pages

"I am going to write it all down, so that what happened to me will be know, so that if someone were to stand at their window at night and look up at the stars and think, My goodness, whatever happened to Louisiana Elefante? Where did she go? they will have an answer. They will know."

Immediately the reader learns that Louisiana's great-grandfather was a magician, and long ago he set into motion a terrible curse. If the above isn't enough to make pages fly,

"Granny woke me up. She said, 'The day of reckoning has arrived. The hour is close at hand. We must leave Immediately.' It was three a.m."

Separated from her friends and pets without even a good-bye, Louisiana realizes that Granny doesn't plan to ever return to their home. But soon what she has left behind seems small in comparison to what she experiences: Granny suffers from excruciating pain causing her to collapse in the back seat of the car, Louisiana deals with a surly motel owner, a nosey church organist, and a walrus-like minister. Not to mention a mysterious boy who walks around with a crow on his shoulder.

Even the story of Pinocchio winds its way beautifully through this touching story of resilience and strength.

What Concerned Me: Absolutely Nothing

What I Loved Most: Katie DiCamillo has well-developed characters with a believable language that is all their own. The book never slowed down from the first page, but managed to keep me wanting more. I highly recommend it. And for those who read my blog, I don't hand out 5 Star ratings that easily.

"But there are facts and there are facts. And one fact is that it is the same sun, and another fact is that if you are far from home, and you don't know who you are, it is a very different sun."

Wow, wow, wow. Where to even begin with this beautiful middle grade novel. I just adore when a middle grade read can affect not only the young audience it's intended for, but an adult just as greatly (if not more). This gem did just that. A story about a young girl, Luisiana Elefante, who's Granny takes her away from the only home she's ever known, never to return again. Though, at the time, she thinks it's just another one of her Granny's crazy ideas (which isn't something unusual for her to have). This is where the story begins, and where I'll leave it, so as not to spoil anything with too many details.

This book absolutely blew me away, beginning with the author's wonderful way of writing. I absolutely adored the first person narration, as we got to see things 100% through Louisiana's perspective. This book very much read like a diary or journal, and it was fantastic. It allowed for such a rawness and realness that couldn't have otherwise been achieved, as you felt the young girl's feelings so strongly within each page, through her own voice. I also really appreciated that the secondary characters were still well developed enough for the roles they played in Louisiana's story, even through such a singular perspective. Clearly this author has incredible talent.

A story of family, friendship, self-discovery, and the ways we find home in the most unexpected places. One that captivated me and broke my heart, then put it back together again. I fell in love with the sweet, strong, and vibrant Louisiana, and simply didn't want her story to end. Truly stunning and truly a masterpiece.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this even more than Ramie Nightingale, The language was beautiful and I think students will connect to Louisiana even though her life may be very different. This is a book that will linger in your heart and mind.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

I loved this book it was funny, sad, hopeful and adventurous. Kate DiCamillo does a wonderful job weaving together a story with remarkable characters and a sad, yet hopeful storyline.

Louisiana's Way Home would make an interesting book to discuss with middle school readers. It brings up many questions. What is family? What is right and wrong? How do the choices we make impact our lives?

”I am going to write it all down, so that what happened to me will be known, so that if someone were to stand at their window at night and look up at stars and think, My goodness, whatever happened to Louisiana Elefante? Where did she go? they will have an answer. They will know.
“This is what happened.
“I will begin at the beginning.”

And with those words, Louisiana Elefante’s journey, with her granny, begins. In the middle of the night, they leave their home in Florida, friends, pets, and everything Louisiana has ever known, and head toward Georgia.

If you’ve already read DiCamillo’s Raymie Nightingale, you will be familiar with Louisiana’s character, a spirited ten year-old girl who has “swampy lungs” and a rather eccentric granny. If you haven’t read Raymie Nightingale, this can be enjoyed without having read it, but I read these two books back-to-back and so for me, there is no real ‘gap’ in the story.

There is a lot of wisdom between the pages of this story, some of which is uplifting, but this story is not without some sadness - life is, after all, a balance between sadness and joy. Even children, and young teens need to learn how to deal with their own sadness by how others deal with sadness, and the frustrations that come with the inconveniences of life. Overall, though, I would consider this a story of life, love and the stories we tell ourselves and others, and home, the ones we first know, and the ones we make for ourselves.

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

Having read Because of Winn-Dixie and having loved it, I was pleased to have an opportunity to read this story, her latest, and hoped for the same level of charm. I was not disappointed in the least.



Pub Date: 02 OCT 2018

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Candlewick Press / Candlewick

Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite authors. After reading Raymie Nightengale, I was eager to hear Louisiana's story. I devoured this book in one sitting. DiCamillo has a way with words, and this craft is what draws me in to each and every one of her stories. Louisiana's Way Home did not disappoint. Her unique situation keeps the reader turning the pages. I will recommend this book to my students and purchase it for my own bookshelf.

I devoured this middle-grade novel with a spunky main character whose voice reminded me very much of Junie B. Jones. Louisiana Elefante's granny takes her on a journey in the middle of the night, abandoning their home and Louisiana's friends and pets. Stranded in a Georgia town by Granny's dental emergency, Louisiana discovers that she'll need to find a way for herself in the world. This is a sweet story of unexpected kindnesses that would make a terrific movie.

Louisiana Elefante is the best kind of whimsy. On an adventure with her irascible grandmother, she has to quickly grow up in certain ways and decide who she is and who she wants to be as details from her past are revealed, she is stranded in Georgia without her best friends Raymie and Beverley or Archie, King of Cats from the first book (Raymie Nightingale), and she is making new friends and a new family of support. Ugh, I loved it so much I don't even have words. I laughed, I cried, I completely was drawn in by the writing, characters, development, plot and dialogue. Absolutely perfect.

This is a wonderful book!! Louisiana is so realistic!! We know Louisiana's twelve-year-old mind and we hurt for her! Such insight into someone's mind! The author's writing is an in-depth study of a child's development and thoughts! Loved it so much!!.