Raymie Nightingale

I was super excited to read Kate DiCamillo's latest book, Raymie Nightingale, and when I finally got it from the library I read it right away. After reading, Raymie Nightingale, I can say that this book is probably my least favorite DiCamillo book. **Sadness**

Raymie Nightingale gets 3.5 out of 5 Stars in my book review. I feel this middle grade fiction book is best for 4th though 7th grade. It's a lovely coming of age story about unlikely friendships, and I think it is a valuable and relatable story for girls raised by single parents or extended family. All in all, it is a well written beautiful story.

However, it did lose a significant amount in my book review b/c the story doesn't keep you intrigued and wanting to come back for more. The pace wasn't necessarily slow, but it didn't move either. Basically, it is an okay book with a message that I felt wasn't all that powerful. Overall, I feel the story was mostly about unlikely friendship among 3 girls and the strength they brought to each other.

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Kate DiCamillo. It’s a name in children’s literature that you can count on.
So many of my favorites have been penned by her hand. (I read that DiCamillo faithfully writes five pages five days a week. I feel so undisciplined, Ive wasted forty three years already. How many pages would that have been? Someone do the math for me so I can feel worse about my unproductively.)
Because of Winn-Dixie. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Flora and Ulysses. The Tale of Desperaux. The Magician’s Elephant. Tiger Rising. The Mercy Watson series. (You guys, have you read Edward Tulane? My word. It’s beautiful.)
Raymie Nightingale was sitting on the newly acquired books shelf at our local library.
I didn’t bother reading the book cover. I just added it to the bag.
The story takes place one summer in 1975 and it gathers together three charming young girls whose lives are each individually full of tragedy and turbulence. A dad who just ran away with a dental hygienist. A daughter whose parents are dead and whose quirky grandmother lives in constant fear of social services taking away her granddaughter. An abusive mother whose husband deserted their family.
These girls. Their lives are a mess and their hearts are a mess and they accidentally find themselves thrown together in a series of events that bonds them and shapes them and holds just the traces of the beginnings of perhaps healing them.
Of course it’s lovely writing. It would make a great read aloud with its cadence and rhythm and funny one liners.
It feels a little profound and there are whole paragraphs I want to highlight – but I don’t because I have a hard enough time keeping in the good graces of the public library system without defacing their books.
In a life guarding class Raymie, the protagonist, participates in one summer the coach announces —
Land is an afterthought, people! … The world is made of water, and drowning is an ever-present danger. We must help each other. Let’s be problem solvers together.
Although this line is delivered early in the novel, it might just be the story’s point.
And, as Raymie noted later …
It seemed like a strange reason to be called into the world – to drown, to be saved, to drown again.
To which I want to shout, AMEN!
It seems like a strange reason indeed.
And yet.
So yes, I loved this little novel. I love Raymie and her desire to call her father’s office each day just to hear the comforting words of her dad’s receptionist in a familiar and stabilizing voice, “Clarke Family Insurance. How may we protect you?”
And I love Louisiana the orphan and Beverly Tapinski, the girl who has acquired the life preserving skill of a tough outer layer.
It’s a good story. It’s lovely words in a good order with characters that feel familiar in my own heart and it’s full of worthwhile moments and a little something that tastes kind of like hope.

Raymie Nightingale’s world was destroyed when her father ran off with his dental hygienist. Now to correct everything, Raymie must win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire Competition, so her picture will be in the paper and bring her daddy home. There is only a minor problem with this plan and that is the fact that Raymie doesn’t know how to twirl a baton. When she signs up for classes, she meets Louisiana and Beverly. Louisiana lives with her grandmother and is determined to win the prize money so she can get her cat back and provide food for her family. Beverly is so sick of competitions that she wants to sabotage this one, so no one will win. This unlikely trio forms a friendship that will see them through difficult times.

This historical fiction novel may seem light-hearted, but it will tug at readers’ heartstrings. There are many different lessons to learn in this book, including friendship, trust, and good deeds. It also shows the effects divorce has on younger children and how they can feel the weight of the world is on their shoulders. There are a few southern literature references and readers will be taken on a wild, wacky ride as the trio forms an unbreakable bond. The short, easy-to-read sentences are perfect for middle grade readers.

Notes:
This review was written for My Sister's Books.

I had two different friends tell me about Raymie Nightingale. Each cautioned me that the book begins slowly. Their warning actually gave me hope. I’ve never been afraid of a slow start. In my experience a slow start has often led to hidden treasure. This proved true once again.

In the case of Raymie Nightingale the ‘slow start’ begins with three girls taking their first baton twirling lesson from a middle-aged woman desperately trying to hang on to the baton twirling glory days of her youth. Each girl is there for the same reason, and yet they have very different motivations. They are all contestants in the 1975 Little Miss Central Florida Tire contest and believe that knowing how to twirl a baton is critical to winning that title.

Raymie’s motivation is to win and get her picture in the paper. Then, maybe, her Dad, who has run away with the dental hygienist, will see her picture and come back. Louisiana wants to win the $1,975 in prize money so that she and her grandmother can buy food. Beverly, who already knows how to twirl a baton, doesn’t actually want to win—she confides that what she really wants is to sabotage the contest. The lesson ends before it gets started when Louisiana faints. The girls depart the lesson in three very different frames of mind. To my reading there is nothing at all slow about this start. It is a clever, engaging meeting of three disparate girls—strangers to each other—who find that their lives overlap and are now entangled.

Raymie is the straight girl. She is struggling with the fact that, on June 3rd, two days before the story begins, her Dad abandoned her and her mother for a dental hygienist. Raymie simply wants him back. The story revolves around her perceptions as she tries to make sense of a world suddenly turned upside down.

Louisiana is an orphan. She’s sweet, innocent, and powerfully optimistic even though she lives with a grandmother who teaches her how to steal tuna from the store so they can have something to eat. When Louisiana’s grandmother tells her that they can’t afford to feed her cat, Archie, and that they need to take him to The Very Friendly Animal Center where they’ll take good care of him, Louisiana believes her.

Lousiana’s seeming innocence floats atop a dark ocean.

“I have a lot of fears,” she says, after fainting at the beginning of the baton twirling lesson. She goes on to ask a question. “Have you ever, in your life, come to realize that everything, absolutely everything depends upon you?”?”

Beverly is the tough girl. Her Dad is a cop. She makes sure the other girls know this when she first meets them.

“Hi. My name is Beverly Tapinsky. My Dad is a cop so I don’t think you ought to mess with me.”

Only later will her new companions find out that her father the cop is a cop in a city many states away. She’s the bitter and jaded to Louisiana’s sweetness and optimism.

To Louisiana’s question Beverly’s answer is simply “Duh.”

Raymie, on the other hand, takes the question as a significant revelation of truth. “Yes,” she says, and goes on to feel “something expanding inside her, billowing out like a tent. This, Raymie knew, was her soul.”

The broken lives of these three girls mix like currents and eddies in a river—unpredictably, yet sure and steady. The strengths of one may irritate or confuse the others, yet that strength is the savior of the moment. Each girl has her moments.

There is never much of a physical description of any of these girls. There is nothing to suggest that any of them is physical attractive. DiCamillo doesn’t let us see what they look like, but only what they are. It is good to read about girls like this in a book, because in real life their presence would worry us the way undisciplined children in the grocery store do. We can’t really see them because we are only waiting for them to leave. In the book we see more like God does, through the annoying surface to the beauty of their souls.

The book’s subtle, but powerful, climax sees Raymie and Beverly chasing a runaway shopping cart, in which Louisiana rides, down a hill. “Oh my goodness,” says Louisiana when she sees where she’s going. Looking back at the girls who are fast falling behind she adds sweetly, “Goodbye.”

It’s laughable. It’s serious. It leads to an ending that some might say isn’t an ending at all, just another beginning. But it is a satisfying beginning full of strength and hope—the kind of beginning that carries me onward like the prospect of a beautiful summer day.
Tory Anderson

One of my reluctant, borderline behind readers told me I HAD to read this book. That it was HIS FAVORITE. I read it. I don't understand how a Latino boy from an unbroken home in Berkeley could relate to the issues of these three very different girls in a small-town learning how to twirl a baton. But that is the magic is Kate DiCamillo. There are some SAD things that happen. And lots of lunresolved" or perhaps just "unexplored" things that happen. But that's okay. I think the book helps teach kids it's okay to just be. Bad and sad things happen. And in the end, there are happy endings. Even if they're bittersweet.

I always look forward to a novel by Kate DiCamillo and have generally enjoyed her books, some more than others. Raymie Nightingale has much to recommend it, but I was sometimes put off by the flat characters who seemed to be constructed out of quirks and catchphrases. The book reminded me at times of Kurt Vonnegut for young readers with a splash of magical realism thrown in for good measure.

I know I'm not the target audience for the book, but I'm not sure how younger readers will react to the blend of real world problems and whimsy which coexist in the book. I know this is touted as a very personal book by Kate DiCamillo but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped to.

Three young girls suffering from personal loss, seek to learn baton twirling in order to win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire contest thereby fixing their lives. Rather than how to twirl, the girls learn about friendship, hope and loyalty as the "three rancheros" fight to do good deeds, including rescuing a beloved cat from the dubiously named "very friendly animal center". The characters are quirky likable and one feels for each child in her abandonment (two whose fathers have deserted the families and one whose parents died in an accident. I particularly like the relationship between Raymie and her neighbor who dispenses care and wisdom while Raymie cuts her toenails.... Nothing amazing and unforgettable, but, an enjoyable read.

I won a copy of Raymie Nightingale in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. This is my honest opinion of the book.

As soon to be contestants for the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, Raymie Clarke, Beverly Tapinski, and Louisiana Elefante are all baton twirling students with very different reasons for their participation. When the unlikely trio become friends, which results in capers as they try to help each other, will Raymie come to some realizations about her life?

Raymie is my favorite character in the book, which was not really successful in my opinion. Raymie Nightingale was entirely too short, with characters that were not fully realized. The coming of age story of friendship was sweet, but there was just not enough to make the book feel complete.

RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE by Kate DiCamillo is a charming middle-grade story of friendship, adventure, and hope.

Raymie Clarke hasn’t heard from her father since he took off with a dental hygienist. By doing a few good deeds and learning to twirl a baton, Raymie hopes to win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, get her photo in the paper, and receive a congratulatory call from her dad. Along the way she develops unusual friendships and learns to deal with her loss in an unexpected way.

Librarians will find a huge audience for this quiet story that combines tragedy and sadness with adventure and compassion. This is sure to be a popular read-aloud choice. Look for this title on the “best of 2016” lists.

To learn more about the author, go to [...]

Published by Candlewick Press on April 12, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

I was underwhelmed by Raymie, unfortunately. Having heard the rave reviews on social media + book-talking reviews for months, I picked this up with great excitement. DiCamillo will always remain a goddess of children's literature and I know this was a more autobiographical book than usual, but for me I just didn't work. I cared more about the side characters than Raymie and the minor adventures/scrapes they got into didn't add up to a full narrative for me. I also felt that, while beautiful and packed with meaning, the insights and philosophical musings that were slipped into the story will likely soar above the younger audience's heads. As an adult, I was nodding in agreement, but it's gotten lukewarm responses from students who just didn't connect with the message. And that's the students who care enough about stories to see past the cover art.

Disappointing. Sometimes DiCamillo tries too hard, in my opinion, to be quirky and eccentric. I prefer her earlier works, such as Because of Winn Dixie and Tiger Rising, which felt so much more authentic. I was irritated by the character of the baton twirler- didn't find her funny at all. And the scenes at the nursing home with the screaming old woman were a little raw and promoted a very negative and scary view of the elderly. Not my cup of tea.

Summary: Raymie Clarke has a plan to win the 1975 Miss Central Florida Tire contest. In addition to the $1,975 prize money, she wants her father to see her picture in the paper. Then maybe he will change his mind about running away with a dental hygienist and come back to his family. Part of Raymie’s plan is to take baton lessons, and it’s here she meets Louisiana and Beverly. Louisiana is an orphan living with her impoverished grandmother, looking for Archie, her cat that she was forced to give to a shelter. Beverly, whose father has moved to New York and whose mother is responsible for the bruise on Beverly’s face, is already an expert twirler. Her motivation for entering the pageant is to sabotage it. Slowly, unpredictably, these three girls form a bond that results in a wild night together, culminating in Raymie Clarke, renamed Raymie Nightingale by Louisiana, saving her friend’s life. 272 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros: A bittersweet story about three girls trying to find their way in a world of sad, lonely, and angry adults. By the end of the book, a friendship has been formed, and each girl has grown up a little in her own unique way.

Cons: Clearly I’m in the minority, but I just don’t get the appeal of Kate DiCamillo. Her characters are so quirky they don’t even seem real to me. The first half of this book seemed like a random string of bizarre occurrences; it took me a couple weeks to get through it, and it’s a pretty short book. However, my opinion notwithstanding, I’m sure by this time next year, the cover of Raymie Nightingale will be sporting a shiny silver or gold Newbery sticker.

Another great read by Kate DiCamillo! Characters are simple yet complex. Story takes place in the summer of 1975 in Central Florida. Three kids become friends and bond over a series of events. I just want to hug each of them and let them know that everything is going to be alright. The story is easy to read and makes the reader reflect on life. Raymie Nightingale is going on my 5th grader recommended books list.

Award-winning author Kate DiCamillo has written another winning, deceptively simple yet ultimately profound novel about building friendship and overcoming loss.

Kate DiCamillo is one of those writers who, it seems, can do just about anything. Animal fables? Check. Funny early chapter books? No problem. A picture book about a chicken? You bet. But what DiCamillo has excelled at since her very first novel, BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE, is the combination of deceptively simple language with complicated situations and profound truths, uncovered by child characters and child readers simultaneously, without much (if any) heavy-handed moralizing. DiCamillo trusts her readers, and she respects them --- and all these traits are on display in abundance in DiCamillo’s latest novel, RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE.

Raymie Clarke has had some disappointments in her short life, but nothing compares with the latest doozy: her dad has run off with a dental hygienist, leaving Raymie and her mom bewildered, sad and angry. But Raymie has a plan for how to get her dad back. She’ll take up baton twirling as her “talent” and win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire contest. When Raymie’s dad sees her picture in the paper, he’s sure to see the error of his ways and come back to the family --- especially his newly famous daughter.

There are just a couple (okay, maybe more than a couple) hurdles standing between Raymie and her happy ending. The first problem is that Raymie’s baton twirling teacher is possibly the worst teacher ever. Raymie and the other two girls in the class --- Louisiana and Beverly --- have nothing in common other than their shared frustration about the time they’re wasting with Ida Nee.

Beverly is a tough-talking lockbreaker who’s already good at twirling a baton. Her swaggering exterior, however, hides her own history of disappointment and loss. Louisiana, on the other hand, appears fragile, but has her own hidden reserves of strength. Soon Louisiana has dubbed their accidental threesome the “Three Rancheros,” and they band together on a chain of missions, from rescuing Raymie’s library book from a nursing home to attempting to retrieve Louisiana’s lost cat Archie from the “Very Friendly Animal Center.” Along the way, all three girls learn about friendship, trust and resilience, and about finding your own light and serving as a light for others.

“’Aren’t we all brokenhearted?’” Louisiana asks at one point in the novel. And there is a lot of heartbreak here, both explicitly addressed and implicitly illustrated. You could say that RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE is a sad book, and you might be right --- there’s very little resembling a traditional happy ending here, and although the three girls find solace in friendship, their individual lives remain far from perfect at the novel’s close. But at the end of the day, the novel doesn’t feel sad, because its moments of hope and beauty offset the heavier, darker ones. Raymie’s plan doesn’t work out at all like she thought it would, but in the end, that’s ok --- what she gains is far more important.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Not my style but I understand why so highly rated. It's NOT about her mia father, its about friendship and coping with loss. Raymie goes to class to learn how to use the baton and hijinks ensue. She bounces from one day to the next trying to sort out her feelings. The other two girls are each her opposite. One much more brave and assertive; the other more innocent. They band together. Ups and down as they navigate life. Despite its 250 page length, its an easy, quick read with words spaced out with wide margins. Well suited for 3rd and 4th grade with some humerous moments.

By the end of the first few chapters, I could already feel the yearning of Raymie and Louisiana to win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire Competition. Their reasons tugged at my heartstrings and pulled me deeper into the story. I loved the flow of this story and following along with how Raymie felt/thought. Watching the girls come together through their struggles was very lovely. They may not have agreed about Archie, but even that turned out for the best. The ending was really perfect and left me satisfied with this simple and sweet tale of growing up and making realizations.

I read this book with my 6th grader and enjoyed it. It is a quick easy read that is a fun, light-hearted look at the world we are living in from a child's perspective. What I came away with, is that it is a book on friendship. I didn't really notice or dwell on the sadness as mentioned by many others. Some of our best friends are not the ones we would choose by appearances or actions or personality traits but because we happen to be at the same place at the right time. In this book, the adults are all having issues: Raymie's Mom is distraught due to her husband leaving with the Dental Hygienist, Beverly's Mom's husband apparently left her to work in the city and she hits her child, and Louisiana's parents have died and her Grandma has no income and thinks that the Social Worker is going to take her granddaughter so she drives recklessly everywhere, and I don't even get the baton teacher...the kids are just living as best as they can in the crazy world of adults that makes absolutely no sense to them. I think the story accurately describes what kids think, feel and do and some of it makes no sense and some of it changes because it made no sense! And parts of the book are not very realistic but that doesn't matter it is fun to think that it might have happened - three young kids out after midnight pushing a shopping cart in a small town and no-one notices! There are no answers to the issues either, but to me that is because that isn't what kids worry about i.e. the secretary keeps answering the phone at the office, Mom doesn't begin looking for work, Grandma and Louisiana keep living in an empty shack in the woods...It was a fun light read about being there for your friend when they need you.

I listened to Raymie Nightingale in the car with my mom while driving to pick up my brother from baseball and I LOVED IT?!!!! It is really good to listen to on Audible because Jenna Lamia has wonderful impersonations of all the characters. For example, Louisiana -a very hopeful character- says "Oh my goodness!!" in an airy voice with a southern accent.
One of the main reasons that I loved this is Jenna Lamia was the best part of it. My mom and I walk around all the time talking like all of the characters.

The story is sweet and sour and had amazing detail that gives you movie in your mind!! My favorite book from the start?

As a lover of Kate DiCamillo's work I couldn't wait to read this book. I must admit however, I was a bit disappointed. The topic was timely and the way it was handled - with the contest and the baton lessons - was funny. This book however just felt a bit rushed for my taste and not on the level with some of her other works. I don't believe children who love Mrs. DiCamillo's work will be sorry to read but as an adult who's in love with middle grade literature I don't feel this "ranks" with her other books.

This is super super super cute.

Three girls who are oh so different, meet during the summer of 1975, and they are all looking to enter a beauty pageant.

What the reader finds out early on is that each girl is trying to escape her circumstances, and that together, they can accomplish a great deal.

This book is about friendship, bravery, forgiveness and growing up. It's a lively take with fascinating characters and cute twists and turns.

Well done.

I found the infidelity/cheating/abandonment issues off putting for reading with my pre-teen. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone except maybe a child that has been abandoned by a parent. This might help them overcome their grief by growing with Raymie. However, for a healthy 10+ year old that doesn't want to have nightmares or worry about their father never coming home....this is one to skip.

This was one of those books that I did not put down until I was done reading! I found it to be a great story about friendship, family, and overcoming struggles. Yes, as others mentioned, the story and characters were a bit quirky. Life is full of quirky characters! For me, that was one of the best parts of the story.

Despite the story taking place in 1975, I found that many of the struggles the characters dealt with are similar to ones that children encounter today -a parent leaving, poverty. These are things many deal with in life and I felt that Ms. DiCamillo addressed those issues in a sensitive, age-appropriate way that young readers will be able to relate to.

Oh my goodness...shag carpet and baton twirling. It took me right back to my childhood summers in the hot, humid south. I'm a huge fan of Kate DiCamillo and used to read Because of Winn Dixie with my fourth grade students each year when I taught school. This book is reminiscent of that novel to me, partly because the sad but cautiously optimistic way that Raymie sees the world is so similar to Opal. And like Winn Dixie, this book also contains the flawed but lovable friends that help the main character find happiness again, even without the "happy ending" she'd hoped for. I commute to work, so I listened to the audio version of this book, and the combination of the pitch perfect narration and DiCamillo's story had me giggling even in traffic. As a side note, I'd never heard the term "swampy lungs" before, but you can bet I'll use it in the future. Another winner for one of my favorite authors!

I really enjoyed Raymie Nigthingale. Kate DiCamillo has a way of writing a story that touches your heart. This is a story of a girl named Raymie, who with her two friends try to make sense of the world without much adult support. Their struggles are universal. The author weaved a story held together with the courage of tweens discovering that life isn't always fair or kind, but friendships can be.

Raymie's father has run off with a dental assistant. When she attends her baton twirling class determined to win the Miss Central Florida Tire contest so she can bring him back, she meets two strange girls. They're as different as they can be, but each girl carries her hidden pain and each her unique talent. They form a bond that transcends their fears and learn to face their difficulties together. Kate DiCamillo has a talent for conveying the way children think. She carries her readers back to the cares and perceptions of childhood. Her story is profound. I loved it as well as any other she's written!

I read about this book in a review somewhere and knew that I had to read it, even if it is a children's lit book. It did not disappoint. The book is about 3 girls, Raymie, Beverly, and Louisiana who are trying to learn baton twirling for a 'Miss Central Florida Tire' contest so that they can win the prize. Raymie wants to win the contest so that her picture will be in the newspaper so that her dad, who has run off with a dental hygienist will see her picture and come home. Beverly is a cynic and wants to sabotage the contest. And Louisiana wants to win the contest so that she can use the prize money to rescue her cat, Archie, from the Very Friendly animal rescue shelter. The three girls come together to help each other out and develop a friendship that will last. I really, really liked this book. Good writing, realistic characters, and short chapters.

Clearly another quality read by Kate DiCamillo. It was a little quiet and slow, even for her, to my taste, but a great climax. The formation of the trio's friendship seemed a little random and forced, but you do fall in love with each of these girls.

Read my full review and others at Eyes and Books!
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Enjoyable story about childhood and friendships centering around a little girl who dreams of winning her father back. Recommended for children and adults. Adorable story and well written.

I'm a middle school librarian, and I am not sure this book will appeal to many students in grades 6-8. While I appreciated the original storyline, I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters, including Raymie. The climax was foreshadowed in the beginning, so I kept wondering when Raymie would have the opportunity to use her lifesaving skills. I really wanted to like this book but ended up having to force myself to continue reading just so I could find out who it ended. Bummer!

Beautiful story of friendship and family with a little mystery, adventure, discovery, and finding what really matters. Give this to a reader who loves a heart warming story with unforgettable characters.

Another brilliant and completely unique story by the extraordinary Kate DiCamillo. In fact it is my new favorite DiCamillo title. I was reeled in from page one. The friendship between the three girls and the adults around them or not around them is authentic. The writing is like music. I truly hope it wins a 2017 Newbery. Any book that makes me feel like a 10 year old reader again has my vote.

I devoured this book in one sitting...I laughed out loud...it is perfect...it is short and sweet and memorable! (don't make it into a movie, tho, Winn Dixie, the movie, was not good...) This book kinda reminded me of one of my favorite books, Ya,Ya Sisterhood! Also, reminiscent of Because of Winn-Dixie--truly one of my favorite....This book made me wish that I would've grown up in the South, as a strong, brilliant and willful, little girl!

Another brilliant and completely unique story by the extraordinary Kate DiCamillo. In fact it is my new favorite DiCamillo title. I was reeled in from page one. The friendship between the three girls and the adults around them or not around them is authentic. The writing is like music. I truly hope it wins a 2017 Newbery. Any book that makes me feel like a 10 year old reader again has my vote.

I devoured this book in one sitting...I laughed out loud...it is perfect...it is short and sweet and memorable! (don't make it into a movie, tho, Winn Dixie, the movie, was not good...) This book kinda reminded me of one of my favorite books, Ya,Ya Sisterhood! Also, reminiscent of Because of Winn-Dixie--truly one of my favorite....This book made me wish that I would've grown up in the South, as a strong, brilliant and willful, little girl!

Lucky me—at least I hoped so when I received a Library Thing review copy. But when reading an author I love, there’s always that fear that this book won’t live up to my hopes. When I tell you the book is about three girls who don’t seem to have much a future: Raymie, whose father left and whose mother can’t seem to cope with that, Beverly whose father also walked out on the family and whose mother beats Beverly because shoplifts, and Louisiana whose parents died and she lives with her nutty grandmother in a dilapidated home with no power or furniture, the book sounds depressing. Remember how DiCamillo works her language magic in Because of Winn-Dixie and you’ll find out how just as Raymie say “It was the strangest thing how happiness came out of nowhere and inflated your soul.” DiCamillo’s gentle way with words continues in this newest (I hope) Newbery Award winner.

I enjoyed Raymie Nightingale. I think Kate DiCamillo is an amazing author. I have enjoyed all of K DiCamillo's books. Raymie is an adorable character and she learns alot from her friends and about herself during the summer.

I recommend Raymie Nightingale.

Disappointing. I'm a big fan of this author but this story was definitely not one of her best. It's indulgent and the story is weak. It's getting a lot of notice because of the author's previous efforts I think. I didn't care for any of the characters in this story, and I hope Kate DiCamillo returns to form soon.

This was a wonderful book with many life lessons such as friend ship is a thing you cant live with out and the lesson of forgiveness. This book was very enjoyable and I would recomend it to all girls or boys in middle school .

This book reminds me of a warm blanket.....you want to never leave it. Kate DiCamillo is a gifted writer. I plan to give my 9 year old granddaughter this book and a baton for Christmas. She will love me forever!

Please take into consideration that I have not finished the book -- and more than likely, I won't, as there's very little to read or keep the interest. I haven't read this writer before, but going by this book I'd like to say that single sentences --with wide spaces in between to boot-- do *not* constitute paragraphs, and a writer's every sentence does not need its own shrine, especially when they have little importance to impart. It's only irritating. It's also irritating to pay for a reasonable sized, hardcover book and get something that can be condensed into 30-40 pages if every other line was not employed, for little or no discernible reason, as though it should come with streamers and blare of trumpets to cover the vast white spaces they float in.

I'm an adult who reads kids' books because I try to write kids' books. Also, I think every book written for children needs to have something that appeals to adults. The author's Because of Winn Dixie draws the reader in with the interesting characters and the underlying heartbreaking story. This new book didn't pull me in at all. The characters were flat and the story was uninteresting. I didn't get past the first three chapters. Very disappointing.