Book Series Review: Three Rancheros - by Kate DiCamillo

Hello, friends!

On October 16th, 2014 I read my first Kate DiCamillo book: The Tale of Despereaux. I devoured the whole thing in one day and I LOVED it. That started me on the journey of Kate DiCamillo being one of my favorite authors. By complete coincidence, I read another book of hers in totality on October 16th, 2015. When I realized that I year had passed since my first, I decided to make this accident turn into tradition and therefore read a book by her every October 16th. I consider it my "reading birthday" in a way.

Today I'll be reviewing three of her books I've read over the years that are slightly connected.

This "series"---called Three Rancheros---takes the three girls introduced in the first book---Raymie, Louisiana, and Beverly---and gives each a turn at being the main character. They are sequential in that each goes off of the background of the previous book(s), but they could also be read as stand-alones. I'll give a light overview of the premise and some thoughts, both of which will be spoiler free.

Raymie Nightingale - by Kate DiCamillo

"Are you going to be a problem causer or a problem solver?"

Premise: Raymie Clarke's father just left her, but she desperately wants him to still be part of her life. The best way she can think of to accomplish this is to make him see her picture in the paper by winning the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition and he'd be proud of her and come back. Some other girls in the competition are Louisiana and Beverly, but Raymie learns to not see them as rivals but friends, and needs their help in forming her new life.

Genres: Coming of age, Middle grade fiction

Awards: National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature, Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Middle Grade & Children's, The Magnolia Award Nominee for 6-8.

There is an updated cover for this book that is in the same style as the next two, but I just adore this original cover.

General thoughts:

Kate DiCamillo perfectly captures the feeling of a hot summer filled with a young girl's desperation to bring back what she has lost. I admire Raymie's determination to fix things. I love stories with three friends as I have two sisters and together we make up our own "three rancheros." My first instinct was to say that I was most like Louisiana due to physical appearance, but as I look back on this book I think I'm most like Raymie. Just minus the determination. The other characters form so solidly in ones imagination as Ms. DiCamillo's prose just carries you along: from youngsters to old folks and everyone in between.

"She sounded like a little cartoon bird when she talked, and this made everything that she said seem ridiculous but also possible--both things at the same time."

Ms. DiCamillo's books always have powerful character revelations and this is no exception, pulling in the historical figure of Florence Nightingale, not as a character but as a hero to admire. This book looks at the emotions when someone we think of as a hero does things we would not believe them to, and how to be heroes ourselves. It's a book about what it means to rescue things.

There are references to other great children's literature such as The Borrowers, Paddington, and Little House on the Prairie, and I would say it should go in the canon of heartfelt children's books itself.

"Well, dear, I have found that most things work out right in the end."

Louisiana's Way Home - by Kate DiCamillo

"In some ways, this is a story of woe and confusion, but it is also a story of joy and kindness and free peanuts."

Premise: One day Louisiana's grandmother tells her to get in the car and they start driving. This feels different from her grandmother's other whims and as they don't have any money they try to keep that secret as they arrange for a hotel room in a new town. But that's not the only secret her grandmother is keeping and between her health and her grandmother's, someone is bound to notice that something is wrong.

"Because that is what it means to be alive on this infinitesimally spinning planet. It means you have cares.

Doesn't it?"

Genres: Coming of age, Middle grade fiction

Awards: Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee for Grades 3-6, Vermont Golden Dome Book Award Nominee, Minnesota Book Award Nominee for Middle Grade Literature, Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Middle Grade & Children's, Whippoorwill Award.

General thoughts:

"Those who love us can't always find us, can they? Or else I would not be writing these words."

One of my notes from reading this book several years ago was "why is it so amazing and sob inducing???"

If my younger sister read this book she'd probably say that it wasn't realistic. But that's part of the point, it's seeing the world for what it could be and finding unexpected kindness in strangers. The sort of people "who give you two when you ask for one."

Through that, I adore the cast of characters in this one. Burke Allen III will forever hold a place in my heart, and his grandpop is pretty great, too. Louisiana is such a dear and her strength comes from within.

If I had to name one type of book to read for the rest of my life, it would be "fish out of water" stories, where the main character comes to a new town and the reader gets to discover all the residents at the same time the main character does. The character has been through a couple towns already and is reluctant to let these new people take up residence in their heart to only leave again. 

This book checks all of those boxes.

It's about forgiveness, kindness, and finding oneself. I couldn't ask for a better and more hopeful message.

"And perhaps what matters what all is said and done is not who puts us down but who picks us up."

Beverly, Right Here - by Kate DiCamillo

"This is the end of the road unless you have a dream."

Premise: It's 1979 and Beverly is lonely. So she decides to run away from those feelings and her town and start anew. She lies about her age to get a job at a restaurant and as an old lady's chauffeur in exchange for a place to stay. Beverly is known for being quiet, so she usually blends into the background, but that's not the same as belonging. Maybe leaving will help her find a true home. 

"I mean to say that I am afraid I've mislocated my capabilities."

Genres: Coming of age, Middle grade fiction

General thoughts:

"The fan was on the floor, turning slowly from side to side, looking for something it had lost."

This is a book where plot-wise, not a lot happens. But emotion-wise, everything happens. You've got an old lady going to bingo and an odd kid in a grocery store and a restaurant that is trying to survive and all of those are connected through Beverly. All her life she's been told she doesn't have feelings, and now they're swarming inside of her from not being released.

Of all the books in this series it's the one that feels most firmly set in a year. And as I know someone who was Beverly's age in that year, I felt it gave me a look into her life.

It's a book about trust and letting people inside, both literally and figuratively. I love the art. And the turkey scenario. And the bird motif. It has relationships with young and old folks alike that made me grin non-stop. My heart was very full after reading this book. 

It seems to me that this is the least well known of the three books, which makes me sad because it is a masterful conclusion. It's set a few years after the other books and I love the way they all connect. 

"They were such beautiful blue words.

She couldn't help it. She loved them."

Ah, Kate DiCamillo writes books that I will never get tired of and never forget. Her stories always change me and as she says in Louisiana's Way Home, "There is a great deal of power in writing things down."

Thanks for reading! Have you read any of these or Kate DiCamillo's other books? What are other books that pull at your heart? Any "fish out of water" books, like these or Moon Over Manifest? 

Happy "Kate DiCamillo day!"

Chloe the MovieCritic