Louisiana's Way Home by Kate KiCamillo

Summary from Goodreads:

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be.

When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana’s life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana’s and Granny’s heads. But that is a story for another time.)

Called “one of DiCamillo’s most singular and arresting creations” by The New York Times Book Review, the heartbreakingly irresistible Louisiana Elefante was introduced to readers in Raymie Nightingale — and now, with humor and tenderness, Kate DiCamillo returns to tell her story.

Review:

Reading a book by Kate DiCamillo is like returning to childhood for a few hours. She writes children with such finesse and ease. Her characters think like children. And I know all children in books should think like children. But, usually they don’t. Usually, that pesky thing called adulthood ruins the juvenile lenses at least a little bit. How does this author continue to write the child’s perspective without any adulthood fog smearing it all up?

Also, I love Louisiana Elefante. I loved her in Raymie Nightingale, and I love her even more now. I think part of the appeal of this book for me, at least initially, was the idea of learning what was really true for Louisiana. Her character had so many amazing stories and spoke them so genuinely. And as a reader, I had to know if she believed in her stories or if she was intentionally making them up. I had to know. There I was letting my foggy adulthood fog up my childish lenses. I should have known that Louisiana believed everything she said.

I liked learning Louisiana’s story as she learned it. Learning her history as she read a letter to herself made everything feel so much more authentic. That letter also brought on the waterworks. I knew what was coming from it before Louisiana did, and again, my older person wisdom kicked in…allowing me to fully grasp what this author excels in –writing from the perspective of a child. Seriously, no one does this better.

I loved the new characters. There was a mixed bag of good people and not-so-good people. I loved what the good people say to help Louisiana find her way. I love that she found friends amidst her sadness. The neighborhood of the motel felt almost like a character also. The setting was so spot-on that it truly felt like I was hanging out in Georgia for a while.

I love how much Louisiana grows up. So much happens to her in a short period of time, yet she is so hopeful, so forgiving, and so endearing. She never loses her magical charisma, not ever. My favorite passage is this, “And so it came to pass that I found myself sitting at the end of a long driveway in front of a pink house that smelled like cake, thinking about forgiveness and who I wanted to be in this world” (200).

I both loved and hated how everything wraps up so perfectly. It was the only not-so believable element of the story for me. On the other hand, it gives the book a sort of fairytale feel. And I want everyone to have a happy ending so badly, particularly Louisiana. I give this a 9/10.