Louisiana's Way Home: (A Heartfelt Coming-of-Age Middle-Grade Novel of Friendship, Self-Discovery, and Finding Your Place in the World - For Kids Ages 10-14 in Grades 5-9)

I first met Louisiana Elefante in the book Raymie Nightingale. Louisiana may have just been a side character, but she is one to draw attention. From the moment she faints during baton lessons to when I learn she has been taught how to steal tuna fish from the grocery store by her grandma so that they can have something to eat, she was unforgettable. The last scene in which I saw her in Raymie Nightingale she is riding in a runaway grocery cart down a hill toward a lake (and she can’t swim). She looks at where she is going and says, “Oh, My!” Then she looks back at her two friends who are chasing the cart and says politely, “Goodbye.” It’s no wonder that when I saw that Kate DiCamillo wrote a book just about Louisiana I didn’t hesitate to pick it up.If you met Louisiana in real life you would quickly ascertain that she is a unique personality. She would tell you the story of her parents—trapeze artists—who died in a shipwreck. She can’t be called a liar or fanciful for her family history as it’s the story her grandmother told her. She accepts it without question. She will tell you that she suffers from a “curse of sundering.” This is a curse where you are destined to constantly be separated from those you love. This isn’t tragical romanticizing on her part. She sincerely believes it. When a stranger sees her behind the wheel of a car and asks her if she should be driving (she is just 12 years old, after all), she answers:“Yes, I should be driving. The situation is dire!”You may think she is being overly dramatic speaking this way, but if your grandma had abducted you from your home in the middle of the night saying, “The day of reckoning has come!” and who is now lying in the back seat of the car incapacitated with a toothache and you are driving a car for the first time through a strange town in a neighboring state looking for a dentist, you might speak the same way. No, Louisiana is an unusual girl, with an unusual history, in unusual circumstances that makes her different from anyone else you might ever meet. Because of her unusualness, she is a girl I desperately want to meet.The question is, do I really want to meet a girl like Louisiana Elefante, or is it just a nice idea. There are many in the book who are not pleased to meet a girl like her. The dentist’s receptionist is only concerned about running a strict schedule and not helping a desperately sick grandma. The motel owner is focused only on payment and not on human beings who have been caught in a very difficult situation. These are truly unlikable, even mean, people who don’t realize how miserable they are. But with these unhappy people we meet human beings who give the rest of us hope. One of these is the greasy gas station owner who seems unresponsive to Louisiana’s chatter, but seems to read her soul. Seeing her eyeing the packages of peanuts on a rack on the counter he tells her, “You can have as many as you want. No charge.” When she takes sixteen packages (Louisiana is legitimately half starved at all times) the man just smiles. She meets other people even kinder.The tragedy of Louisiana’s life caught me off-guard. When she, while tears fall quietly from her eyes onto the couch in the living room of near strangers, says, “I don’t know who I am,” only the reader fully understands the depth of her words. To experience the revelation that Louisiana, a fictional character experiences and feel the feelings she feels, is a testimony to the power of fiction. No TED talk would come close to getting me to understand what it’s like to be in Louisiana’s position. I love these powerful literary moments.Kate DiCamillo is a proponent of hope for the human race. Louisiana’s Way Home written by many others would most likely be dark and depressing. If not dark and depressing, it would be silly and saccharine. DiCamillo, in my opinion, walks the fine line between the two—a fine line the follows the goodness that really can be found in the hearts of human beings. Along with the miserably mean people Louisiana encounters (people who are probably more like us than we want to believe) she lands among the beautiful people of our race who make me proud to be a human being. These are people who I want to be like—something DiCamillo helps me believe can really be.Louisiana’s Way Home brings to life the kind of girl who I would find annoying in real life, but manages to show me the rare beauty behind the annoyance. It makes me feel special because I feel like I am one of the chosen few who become a friend of Louisiana and that makes me unique, like she is.

Kate DiCamillo may be our greatest living fiction writer. She inhabits the hardest niche to write for, where both kids and adults must be engaged at their different levels of reading and comprehension. And KC not only achieves that, she does so with remarkable depth and insight. And she writes with the most exquisite prose.Louisiana's Way Home is billed as the second book in a trilogy, but that's a bit misleading. All three books stand on their own. There is no overarching narrative that holds them together. Instead, they act more like a triptych -- three works of art that are interrelated and enhance one another. Each story comes from the perspective of a different friend of an unlikely trio of girls. This one tells Louisiana's story of finding out her life is a lie and being set adrift both personally and practically (finding herself homeless). KC resolves these tensions with a satisfying and beautiful imperfection as she does so often in her books.

Bought this for my 9 year old daughter who loves Kate DiCamillo books. We read it together and the story was really good. I really liked it and would recommend.

Just as well written as Raymie. It's a little darker than the 3 friends in Raymie, but it has surprise twists and, as always, compelling characters. Louisiana and Beverly, Right Here are as well written, rich, and colorful as Because of Winn Dixie and Tiger Rising.

Louisiana is a sweet, sincere, young gal who’s put into a series of challenging situations, and turns out to be very gutsy. She was raised by her Granny after her parents died, but Granny liked to move frequently so poor Louisiana didn’t have a permanent home. For her last move they had stayed two whole years and she had made some good friends, but Granny wakes her unexpectedly in the middle of the night and Louisiana discovers that, once again, they are on the move. It turns out to be a road trip with many unexpected twists and some unsettling surprises. Louisiana shows her pluck as she ends up taking care of her Granny, making some friends, and doing her best to hang onto hope throughout it all. Can she manage to get back to her friends…ever? It’s hard not to chuckle at some of the situations she ends up in. Who knew what could happen when someone steps firmly on the brakes of a car while going really fast, or that a man with a walrus face could turn out to be a really nice person. This story is both humorous and gripping. Louisiana discovers she has a strength she didn’t realize and she sees many facets of human nature, from quirky women who don’t trust young strangers to some humble folks offering ice cream and love.I liked this book and I think 5th and 6th grade girls will find it inspiring and fun. Author Kate DiCamillo has a solid track record with other award-winning books, and she hits the mark again with this one.

Louisiana’s Way Home is an emotional roller-coaster of a story as we journey with Louisiana to find out what “Home” really means. Louisiana is a small girl with a strong, honest voice, and make no mistake, SHE is telling this story. After meeting Louisiana in Raymie Nightingale, I was delighted to learn that Louisiana’s story would be shared as well. Kate DiCamillo is one of those amazing writers who can tell a complete and colorful story without weighing it down with too many words. Her characters speak clearly and beautifully through the pages with the voice that she gives them. I truly laughed out loud, wept tears of both sadness and joy, and hugged the book tightly when I finished reading it, in an attempt to somehow hug Louisiana, and even Kate herself. This book is brilliant and beautiful, and young (and old) readers will enjoy Louisiana’s voice as surely as if we were listening to her sing in a cathedral.

Good story line and captivating to the audience it’s geared towards. Would recommend this author for other’s children to read.

Esta es una autora que cada vez me gusta más. Su estilo es directo, incisivo y provocador. No subestima la inteligencia de su público objetivo, por el contrario. En sus historias da una perspectiva del mundo, de la vida y de las personas en general, nada habitual en los libros infantiles a pesar de su importancia y necesidad.

I enjoyed reading the story it was so amazing.

Christmas gift book was just perfect for young readers well packaged for post delivery. thank you

an excellent book.