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A review by nicktomjoe
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
5.0
A beautifully constructed and very fluent story: this moves from an initial problem - how the protagonist can get her father's attention after he runs off with a dental hygienist - through the ambivalent development of friendships to a pretty much all-encompassing finale. Raymie and her friends learn a lot in a short time over some small-town children's adventures, in which they lead each other into all sorts of adventures which an adult reader can see -not entirely accurately- are doomed to failure.
At one level we are not too far from the backyard adventures of "The Sign on Rosie's Door" and "A Bargain for Frances:" but these girls are a bit older, maybe a bit wiser, and certainly more bruised by their experiences. Perhaps the best part for me is the way that, true to an understanding of children's worlds, the characters come to understand the complex and tragic parts of their friends' families. Beautifully drawn, the three girls learn about how each of them has sadnesses to deal with, difficult situations to negotiate. "Beware of the broken-hearted," said the grandmother, "for they will lead you astray"..."That's all of us, though, Granny, isn't it?" said Louisiana over the noise of the rain. "Aren't we all broken-hearted?"
At one level we are not too far from the backyard adventures of "The Sign on Rosie's Door" and "A Bargain for Frances:" but these girls are a bit older, maybe a bit wiser, and certainly more bruised by their experiences. Perhaps the best part for me is the way that, true to an understanding of children's worlds, the characters come to understand the complex and tragic parts of their friends' families. Beautifully drawn, the three girls learn about how each of them has sadnesses to deal with, difficult situations to negotiate. "Beware of the broken-hearted," said the grandmother, "for they will lead you astray"..."That's all of us, though, Granny, isn't it?" said Louisiana over the noise of the rain. "Aren't we all broken-hearted?"