Another masterpiece from DiCamillo. I recommend all Dicamillo books to all ages. Her writing is timeless.

Love, love, love Kate DiCamillo. She has an incredible way of writing these quirky characters and surrounding them with a most interesting supporting cast.

Kate Dicamillo has does it again! This is an incredibly beautiful and amazing book. I highly recommend it.

This is the third book in what has now been called the Three Rancheros series. Each book following one of three girls. Raymie Nightigale, Louisiana’s Way Home and now Beverley Right Here.

The blurb says that this book will break your heart and put it together again, and that is most certainly true. As an adult reading this, my heart breaks right from the get go, because what must a child’s life be like if she chooses to leave home at 14, after the only thing that means anything to her dies…her dog.

Beverley is only 14, and she makes a decision to leave and then leaves. She has this air about her that everything will be alright, when leaving home, getting a job and finding a place to live is a daunting prospect for many, let alone a 14 years old girl. The book is set in 1979, so maybe that plays a part, but her cool calm demeanor probably has a lot to do with the fact that she had to be the grown up form an early age, as we can see here.

Page 37

“I’ve been driving since I was ten,“ said Beverly.

“Ten?” said Iola. She blinked.

”My uncle taught me. My mother was drunk all the time, so he figured it was a good idea for me to know how to drive.”

On the face of it, this book should be depressing and heartbreaking, but it’s not. It’s full of love and friendship and understanding. It shows that the right people can come into your life when you need them. It shows that there are good people in the world, and that you can make a difference in someone's life, just just by being there. It's easy to say that Beverley would have been lost without Iona, but Iona, who suffered from her 'blue days', needed someone just as much.

I read a digital ARC courtesy of NetGalley, and there was a note to readers at the start. This is what Kate DiCamillo had to say about the books as series:

Raymie Nightingale is about the saving grace of friendship. Louisiana’s Way Home is about deciding who you are. And Beverly, Right Here is about acting on that knowledge of who you are. They are all stories of becoming, I think. And all three of these books are about the power of community - the grace of someone opening a door and welcoming you in, and maybe most of all, having the courage to walk through that door once it’s open.

Thanks to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to review.

Beverly, Right Here wasn't as good of a read as its prequel, Louisiana's Way Home, was. This book felt like it didn't have enough content in it to really wow me. However, Beverly was a great protagonist and the story was still touching.

I loved the aspect of family that is ever so present in this series so far. Beverly finds home in the form of people that aren't related to her - her mother is an alcoholic and only cares for her own well-being (or lack thereof), and her father isn't present in Beverly's life. While some things are pretty unrealistic in this book, such as Beverly getting away with driving a car almost every day at the age of fourteen and being able to live with a random woman and get a job - also at the age of fourteen - the characters' emotions and reasoning behind these emotions were completely realistic, which made the novel enjoyable.

Beverly and the people around her equate for a good plot. While Beverly, Right Here isn't my favorite book by this author, it's still really good for the amount of pages.

Kate Dicamillo does it again! Such a beautiful and amazing book. This book is must-have for any classroom!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Dicamillo never disappoints me. I love Beverly. I love the way that she reaches out to others without realizing that she is doing so.

A wonderful novel about a young woman who is learning how to take care of herself while she takes care of others along the way.

Kate DiCamillo primarily writes standalone stories, but Beverly, Right Here is the conclusion of her first trilogy. Raymie Nightingale was the first in this series, where we meet three friends: Raymie, Louisiana, and Beverly. Louisiana's Way Home came next, and this is the conclusion.

14-year-old Beverly struggles in her home, so after she buries her beloved dog, she spontaneously leaves town. She finds herself living with an older woman in a trailer home, finding a job at a fish diner, and connecting with locals. 

Through these experiences, Beverly opens herself up to new friendships while mourning losses in her life. We witness her coming into her own, finding inner strength, and recognizing beauty around her.

Kate DiCamillo has a way of writing that feels natural, raw, and beautiful. She conveys truths simply but powerfully.  Beverly, Right Here, along with the other books in the series, feel as if they're geared towards older children. They're not as lighthearted as her earlier works, but they are important and can pull out your emotions as they speak to truths of the importance of having dreams and finding friends who are your chosen family.

(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

I discovered something about myself as I read this: I'm not the biggest fan of quirky, coming-of-age stories for middle grade. To me, they often come off as inauthentic and unbelievable - an adult author trying too hard to impart wisdom upon young readers using both humor and what my cynical self can only describe as emotional manipulation.

I say this and yet I still give this 3 stars. It didn't frustrate me as much as the other highly buzzed, quirky coming-of-age book of the year, Coyote Sunrise . The writing is beautiful (this is Kate DiCamillo after all), and I'm pretty sure my middle-grade self would've liked this story of a struggling girl running away from her tough life and finding love and support in a faraway town. Beverly was easy to root for, even when she would say things that I can't remotely imagine a 14 year old girl saying so eloquently. I also still feel compelled to read Louisiana's Way Home, so I'm not ready to give up on the quirky coming-of-age stories just yet.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be published September 24th 2019 by Candlewick Press.

I read this twice because I lost the notes I made the first time. It was not a hardship. In fact, I think I enjoyed it more the second time. I suspect that if I read it again, I might appreciate it even more. I did not expect this.

In August 1979, Beverly's dog, Buddy, dies. Fourteen year old Beverly Tapinsky, overwhelmed by the empty feeling inside her, leaves home.

She's lucky.

She catches a ride with her cousin to Tamaray Beach. Right away, thanks to the waitress, Freddie, she lands a job bussing tables at Mr C's, an ocean side fish and chip joint. Doris and Charles, who work in the kitchen, make sure that she is treated well by Freddie and Mr Denby.

Next, in the Seahorse Trailer Court, she is befriended by an elderly lady. Iola Jenkins. Iola provides a place for her to stay. In exchange for a home, Beverly just has to drive Iola where she wants to go.

At the corner store, Beverly connects with Elmer. After an inauspicious first encounter, the two become friends and romance blossoms.

Bit by bit that empty feeling inside our tough heroine is filled up with all the people she meets.

Kate DiCamillo creates characters that crawl inside your heart and fill up empty places inside you that you didn't even know you had. Probably because I am a senior myself, I especially appreciate the relationship between Iola and Beverly. Both of them are vulnerable and at risk in their own way. Middle grade readers will most likely find her connection with Elmer most satisfying. The honesty between the two of them is what I would wish for them in their own relationships.

As I'm writing this review, I'm tempted to leave it and go back and devour the book again. I want to return to the honesty and tenderness of the Tamaray Beach community one more time. I'm confident I will uncover more riches if I do. Actually, I think I'll just go back and reread all the books in the Three Rancheros series again. I suspect a lot of readers will feel like this after reading Beverly Tapinsky's story.

The third book in Kate DiCamillo series about 3 spunky girls, each on their own mission. Each book can definitely be read as a stand-alone, but I recommend reading them all in whatever order you choose but just read them.

Beverly is only 14 when this book begins in the late 1970s, she is sad and missing her dog so what else can she do but run away from home. Thus the adventure begins. Just like the other 2 books I loved the quirky situations she gets herself into, her thoughts and actions define her unique characteristics.

Beverly was a fun read, with an eclectic cast of characters, a heartfelt storyline that focused on friendship, loneliness and self-discovery. With humor mixed in Kate DiCamillo is one of my goto for middle-grade books.

My thanks to the publisher (via Netgalley) for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Where she has been had never truly felt like home.”

After her beloved dog, Buddy, dies, Beverly feels like there is no reason to stay at home any longer. After all, her mother doesn't care about her. “Beverly’s mother didn’t watch out for anybody but herself.” So she grabs a ride with her cousin, Joe Travis, and ends up in Tamaray Beach. "It was hot. It was August. It was 1979. Beverly Tapinski was fourteen years old."

A cast of characters spring up in Beverly’s life at just the right time. There’s Iola, who lives in the Seahorse Court, an RV community. She sees Beverly and begins to ask questions. “When you get as old as me everything is your business." Soon they decide to work out an agreement: Beverly can stay with Iola in exchange for Beverly driving Iola to the grocery store and to the VFW for bingo. See, Iola’s son, Tommy Jr., made her sign a contract promising not to drive.

Then, there are the people at Mr. C’s restaurant. Freddie, the waitress. It’s her idea to hire Beverly to bus tables. She keeps saying this is only a quick stop on her journey, that she has bigger dreams than being a waitress. “This is the end of the road unless you have a dream." Then there’s Mr. Denny, the owner of the restaurant, who’s not great with paperwork, so he pays Beverly in cash ... for now. Charles and Doris, overworked and underpaid, round out the staff. Then there’s Freddie’s obnoxious boyfriend.

As Beverly settles in, she begins to understand what family is all about ... caring for others who care about your well being. It’s something she hasn’t really felt before and it makes some of that tough interior soften a bit.

Another winner from Kate DiCamillo. Her quirky characters, lush language and plucky heroine will make this a favorite with her readers. For ages 4th grade and up.

Thank you NetGalley and Candlewick Press for an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my honest review!

Beverly, Right Here is the third installment in the Three Rancheros series that Kate DiCamillo began with Raymie Nightingale and continued with Louisiana's Way Home. In Beverly, Right Here, Beverly is a young teenage runaway living in Florida in 1979. Her beloved dog has recently died and she has been taking care of herself for years anyway (her mother is an alcoholic) so she decides the time is right for her to leave home. She gets a job busing tables and befriends an elderly woman living alone in a trailer park. The woman, showing true hospitality, opens up her heart and home to the young girl. Beverly doesn't think that she needs anyone--doesn't think that she should need anyone--but she learns that caring about others is exactly what she needs.

Beverly, Right Here is the third book by DiCamillo in the Raymie Nightingale world. This time the star is Beverly Tapinski, a tough talking yet sensitive teen, who hits the open road after burying her beloved dog, Buddy. She ends up in a small coastal town where she befriends a bevy of quirky characters from Iola, a trusting senior citizen who offers Iola a bed and a never-ending supply of tuna melts, to Elmer, an acne plagued store clerk with a love for art and a mind for science. Beverly's new community is richly drawn despite DiCamillo's spare writing style and you'll find yourself smiling at everyone's idiosyncrasies and charm. For a short novel, there is a well-spring of material to spark conversation of the bookish variety. Beverly, Right Here would be a great choice for a book club as it's rich with symbols and themes that readers have to work to interpret.

Yet another win for Kate DiCamillo. I’ve loved this series of feisty, thoughtful girls!

Beverly caught me right away. I just devoured this one.

Besides a wonderful story, I want to flag here from the educator side of things how useful this book would be. I love that this series could be used beautifully in the classroom (because of length, honesty/tone, lovable characters, great writing... the list goes on!). The length factor especially (as well as how you can read each one in any order) makes it perfect for small book groups. Also it would be a great way to set kids up to have entryways into the next book. They’ll definitely want to trade and read with peers from another book group etc. It is not only a perfect set up but of course.. it’s great writing and each book is solidly beautiful, poignant, and fun. I’m already itching to write a book group unit / read aloud unit on these books. They’re excellent for the classroom ( my only way of making them better would be more racial/cultural rep). .

I can’t decide which one is my favorite. So, I guess you’ll have to read them all, pass them around. The best part is you’re going to find yourself immersed in some important life reminders, and will fall in love with the humans in these stories each and every time.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the best ARC I have received in a while.

This book just came out 9/24 so it is the perfect book to bring into your classroom libraries this Fall (and bring in the whole series if you don’t have it!) It would also be the perfect book to bring in if you need an engaging boost for a Winter unit.

Want to read about a spunky girl with a lot of heart? Then this is a book for you. Beverly Right Here is the third book is Kate DiCamillo’s Three Rancheros series, but you don’t have to have read the other books to enjoy this one.
Beverly is a 14 year old girl growing up in 1970s Florida. In the wake of grief over the death of her dog, she runs away from home. Her mom has never been a strong presence in her life and Beverly has always had to depend only on herself. She takes off with the idea that she can do that away from the sadness of loss.

Beverly find a job as a waitress in a small beach town and is taken in by an older woman named Iola who allows Beverly to stay with her in exchange for driving her to Bingo. As much as Beverly resists connection with others, her fierce independence and desire to be own her own soften as she stays with Iola and meets a young man named Elmer. The story of her journey and growth is a beautiful one. Kate DiCamillo does her usual wonderful job at giving depth and heart to her young characters. This is a must for any middle grade reader while also being a enjoyable, heartwarming story for an adult to read.

Thank you @netgalley for this ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I wrote a review of Louisiana’s Way Home, I began, “Seldom do I like a sequel better than the first book, but I’ve found an exception.” I had jumped at the chance offered by Net Galley for an advance reading copy of that book where Kate DiCamillo revisits a previous novel for her protagonist. Now from the Three Rancheros friendship of Raymie, Beverly, and Louisiana in Raymie Nightingale, Kate returns to tell Beverly’s story, and again I read an advance reading copy from Net Galley focusing on the last of the trio.

This book, set four years after Raymie Nightingale in August 1979, focuses on Beverly as the protagonist, but has an array of colorful secondary characters. Beverly has just buried her dog Buddy under the orange trees when she decides to leave home, claiming that is different from the times she ran away as a kid because now she will make it on her own. In a phone call effort to let her mother know she is okay, she notices words etched in the glass of the phone booth, “In a crooked little house by a crooked little sea,” that sounds to her like the beginning of a story. She is right.

Beverly is taken in by elderly Lola who has promised her children not to drive the Pontiac in her yard after she mixed up the forward and reverse and plowed into Bleeker’s Insurance building. She needs someone to take her to the VFW for bingo, seemingly as much as Beverly needs a place to stay. Beverly, who hates fish, winds up eating tuna melts with regularity because that’s what Lola knows how to fix, and busing tables in a fish lunch restaurant. Freddie, their only waitress, who may or may not be fair about splitting tips with her, assures her that dreaming big will get her into better things.

In spite of her fierce struggle to be independent of other people and to keep them from dependence on her, Beverly’s life wraps around her immediate community in the restaurant and around others she meets in the small town, including acne-faced Elmer who has plans to go to Dartmouth. Mixed throughout, she has things she knows she needs to write in a letter to Raymie.

I am left pondering which of the three books I really liked the best and thinking I may need a rerun to find out. So be forewarned, if you finish this book and have already read Raymie Nightingale and Louisiana’s Way Home, there may arise an uncontrollable urge to go back and read all three back to back. If you haven’t read the others, I highly recommend that you begin at the beginning and read them in order.

Two words: Kate DiCamillo. What more to say? Once again, DiCamillo makes us fall head over heels with a less than perfect character. The trio is complete! Don't miss out.

I was given a free copy of this book from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Beverly Tapinski is the third girl in the trio including Raymie Nightengale and Louisiana Elefante. Beverly runs away from home after her dog Buddy dies. Her mom is an alcoholic and she doesn't even leave her a note. When Beverly arrives in Tamaray, she gets a job bussing tables at Mr. C's Fish Restaurant and gets taken in by a sweet old lady named Iola. Beverly ends up meeting and bonding with a ragtag group of characters. As always, Kate DiCamillo is a master at character development and this book continues that trend. Delightful read!

Beverly Tapinski is all done with her family, her home and her town. She has run away before, but this time it's for good. After hitching a ride, she ends up in Tamaray, Florida - no home, no job, nowhere to go - completely on her own. Using her strong street smarts, she has soon secured a job as the bus girl at a local fish restaurant, and housing with an elderly widow named Iola Jenkins. She spends her days wandering up and down the A1A in constant reflection of her choices.

The trailer park setting, thick with Florida's humid air and crazy characters, reminded me instantly of DiCamillo's "Because of Winn-Dixie", and this story has similar themes of abandonment, neglect and a young woman searching for a family. I think that Beverly and Opal would have gotten along famously, complaining about their absent mothers and incomplete family units. A constant doubter of other people's motives, Beverly is quick with a sharp comment or defensive remark, but like Opal, she finds people in her community that are understanding of her troubles and let her in. Watching her transform and open up to her new family was a slow process, but one that is well done on DiCamillo's part. It's worth the reader's time.

The ending of this story is unexpected, and without giving too much away, I'm wondering if Kate wanted us to draw conclusions on our own.