Kate DiCamillo's Raymie Nightingale
I'm reading this middle-grade novel for two reasons: 1) I saw Ann Patchett speak a couple weeks ago, and she spoke very warmly about DiCamillo and her work; and b) the third book in this series just came out to stellar reviews, and I am nothing if not a person who will always read a series from the beginning. Anyway, the titular Raymie is a ten year old in 1975, who wants to win a local beauty pageant type thing in the hopes it will bring her father back (he has left her mother for another woman). So she enrolls in baton-twirling lessons, where she meets two other girls who also have plans for the contest. I thought this was really sweet and enjoyed seeing how things worked out--DiCamillo does a great job with the structure here. The narrative voice reads a little young, but that works for a ten year old character in a book aimed at ten year olds. A-.
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