Louisiana's Way Home (Three Rancheros)

by Kate DiCamillo

As featured on The Today Show’s Read with Jenna Jr. Book Club

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes the New York Times bestselling 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.

• ISBN10: 0763694630
• ISBN13: 9780763694630
• Publish Date: 2 October 2018 (first published 1 January 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Candlewick Press,U.S.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780763694630

Reviews

[readingwithwrin]

Louisiana's Way Home is a heartbreaking story of a Louisiana who is a young girl and her letter to her granny.

Louisiana and Granny are going on a very sudden trip. Along with this trip granny tells her very little, and instead just expects her to keep going along with everything like she always had. You see Louisiana and Granny had a somewhat different life, Granny believed that they have a curse on them and uses this to keep Louisiana in line it seems. But as time has gone on Louisiana has gotten tired of this excuse and wants to know more, but never seems to get anywhere as Granny always changes the subject or tells her she doesn't need to know and to be quiet.

On this road trip though Granny suddenly becomes in a lot of pain and they have to stop in a town for her to get help. From there they are essentially stuck while Granny recovers, this leaves Louisiana with a lot of free time, and she gets to explore and makes a friend. This friend becomes key to Louisiana's life and helps her through the things she learns from Granny as time goes on.

Overall I enjoyed this story and I would have loved this story as a middle grader. Louisiana is an inquisitive child and wants to know things, while also being resourceful. Granny is a character that you can tell is just trying to do what she thinks is best for Louisiana, she just doesn't always show this in the best way. The people that Louisiana meets along the way are a wide variety of people and remind me of a lot of people that are actually in small towns. This is a great read for your middle-grade reader who is unsure about there place in the world and needs to feel a little less alone in the world.