Raymie...Clarke? or Nightingale? Perhaps both!

Rarely does a book title draw me in as this one did.

Raymie. I have never heard this name before. Raymie.

And then Nightingale. There had to be some symbolism there, amIright?

And beyond the title? The author--Kate DiCamillo! 

I adored Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures!

This had to be a winner!

Raymie Nightingale 

by Kate DiCamillo

So...this was no Flora & Ulysses. Definitely no raucous 
laugh-out-loud humor as I found in Flora & Ulysses. 
Though I did chuckle alot and laugh a few times...

But there was much poignancy and some real-life angst, 
as well as well-intentioned life-changing strategies and plans.
You can also read the Book Riot review here.

Three girls gather at Ida Nee's house for their first baton-twirling lesson. 
One can already twirl a baton, one helps her grandmother steal food, 
and one is determined to have her family back.

Though they may seem an unlikely trio of 'misfits,' they eventually become the 
"Three Rancheros," determined to perform 'good deeds.' But first...let's meet them!

And then the girl...let out a sob and said. "The more I think about it, 

the more terrified I am. I am too terrified to go on!"

The girl clutched the baton to her chest and dropped to her knees.

Raymie stared at her in wonder and admiration.

She herself often felt too terrified to go on, but she had never admitted it out loud. (2)

So very much said with so few words! My immediate thought? That girl's quite the actor!

And Raymie's "wonder" and "admiration"! Love those words. Just perfect!

What one of us has NOT felt at some point in our lives, especially our younger years,

 "too terrified to go on"?

"Stop this nonsense immediately," said Ida Nee.

Ida Nee was the baton twirling instructor. Even though she was old--over fifty at least...

She wore white boots that came all the way up to her knees. 

"I'm not kidding," said Ida Nee.

Raymie believed her. Ida Nee didn't seem like much of a kidder. (2) 

Okay, that got a chuckle out of me! (And really, is fifty all that old? Thinks someone who is in their 60's! lol) But what, exactly, has these two children so terrified, you may ask? 

[Just] two days before...Raymie Clarke's father had run away from home 

with a woman who was a dental hygienist. (3)

Awww...poor Raymie! How disturbing and disruptive for her! A "great tragedy," according her mother. 

Sometimes the pain in her heart made her feel too terrified to go on. 

Sometimes it made her want to drop to her knees. 

But then she would remember that she had a plan. (4)

And it is quite the plan...

There wasn't time for people fainting. She had to learn how to twirl a baton 

and she had to learn fast, because if she learned how to twirl a baton, 

then she stood a good chance of becoming Little Miss  Central Florida Tire.

And if she became Little Miss Central Florida Tire, 

her father would see her picture in the paper and come home. 

That was Raymie's plan. (7)

Tears came to my eyes when I read this. This poor sweet little innocent, naive girl... Awww...my heart went out to her right then! And you know what? Honestly, I hoped she succeeded in her heartfelt "plan." 

Unfortunately for Raymie, Louisiana, who comes "from a show-business background," what with her parents being a part of a circus act called "the Flying Elefantes." (Yes, 'elefante' is definitely close to 'elephant,' is it not? I did chuckle at the vision of the 'elephant' trapeze act this fostered in my imagination! :)) Louisiana is currently bemoaning her sense of betrayal to the 'family cat,' Archie, since they had to leave him at the Very Friendly Animal Center where he would be fed and well cared for, per her Grandmother. They couldn't afford to feed him any longer, as they barely had any food for themselves. But...Louisiana also...has a plan... 

"I've entered the Little Miss Central Florida Tire 1975 contest, and I'm going to win that 

one thousand nine hundred and seventy-five dollars and save myself from the county home 

and get Archie back from the Very Friendly Animal Center and never be terrified again." (20-21)

With this money she intends to purchase tuna fish since it is "high in protein" and therefore, good for her "swampy lungs." Her grandmother roars up in an old station wagon, shouting,

"Hurry!...Marsha Jean is somewhere close behind. I'm certain of it. 

I can feel her malevolent presence." (26)

Uhm...alrighty then! Oh, my! Poor Louisiana! My heart also went out to her! 

But then, Beverly, the third member of this trio of baton-twirling-wannabes, slashes her pocketknife through the air, stating her intention to "sabotage the contest," since she hates "spangly things." :) As Raymie is completing her Miss Central Florida Tire application, she idly wonders if Beverly must actually enter the contest so she can sabotage it... :) Another chuckle from me... Though Beverly obviously has reasons for her anger, as she states that in the past, her mother has entered her into more of those contests than she can count.

Throughout the book, Raymie imparts bits and pieces of information given to her through the years by her elderly neighbor, Old Mrs. Borkowski. 

Old Mrs. Borkowski said all the time that the sun could not be relied on.

"What is the sun?" said Mrs. Borkowski. "I will tell you. 

The sun is nothing but a dying star. Someday, it will go out. Phhhhtttt." 

Phhhhtttt was actually something that Mrs. Borkowski said often and about a lot of things. (22)

Okay, that did make me laugh! And I could relate to Raymie's close relationship with this older female neighbor. After my first child was born, I would take him down to visit with my neighbor who was in her late 80's; none of her children lived very close nor visited her very often. She actually taught me how to raise African Violets and gave me my first plant starts! Though I believe she was much more pleasant overall than was Mrs. Borkowski! For instance, I cannot recall her ever saying "Pfffftttt"...not even once! However, I never trimmed my neighbor's toenails as Raymie did for Mrs. Borkowski, since she couldn't reach her feet and therefore never tied her shoes either. That Raymie is a sweetheart, isn't she? 

Raymie's mother appears to be in a state of shock. In addition to Old Mrs. Borkowski, Raymie also has a relationship with Mrs. Sylvester, the secretary at her father's insurance office. She calls and talks with her periodically. It is Mrs. Sylvester who suggests she read to residents at the Golden Glen Nursing Home as her "good deed" to include in her Miss Central Florida Tire application. In her room, she selects the library book, A Bright and Shining Path: The Life of Florence Nightingale, for this task. (Note the last name--Nightingale--she saved lives. :)) In going to the nursing home, Raymie decides to walk rather than ride her bike, so that she could "flex her toes and isolate her objectives," just as Lifesaving 101 coach, Mr. Staphopoulos had taught her to do. He believed

that flexing your toes cleared your mind and that once your mind was clear, 

it was easy to isolate your objectives and figure out what to do next. 

For instance: save whoever was drowning. (58)

I seriously wonder if this works. I intend to try it. I'll let you know the results! :)

Raymie ends up losing her library book at the nursing home and is relying upon Beverly to help her get it back, just as Louisiana is also relying upon Beverly...and Raymie to help rescue Archie from the Very Friendly Animal Center. Why Beverly? Because of Beverly's statement:

Fear is a big waste of time. I'm not afraid of anything. (79)

It was quite different for Raymie who would periodically try to 

rearrange her soul, working to make it invisible. (81)

Ah, poor Raymie! She just feels so insignificant, doesn't she? Though when she's happy she can feel her soul growing and becoming lighter, but when she's sad, it "shrinks." Then drama begins at the second baton-twirling lesson...

...Ida Nee cam marching toward them, her white boots glowing and her baton flashing.

She had on a spangled top that sparkled like fish scales. Her hair was very yellow.

She looked like a mermaid in a bad mood. (82)

Yes. I couldn't help it. I just had to laugh at that "mermaid in a bad mood" vision! Though Ida attacks Beverly, hitting her on the head with her baton and Louisiana launches herself upon Ida Nee and holds on for dear life. It is apparent someone has already hit Beverly, evident by the bruise under her left eye. We later learn it was her own mother who hit her... :(

Raymie is amazed to learn that Beverly's father is a cop, but a cop who lives and works in New York City! Beverly doesn't "have a father," either, just like Raymie! Though Beverly plans to move to New York as soon as she can--she has already run away twice, once even reaching Atlanta! This revelation is made while they're at Louisiana's house, currently without electricity due to no money. Beverly has left the room...

"I think her heart is broken," said Louisiana.

Raymie's soul shrank further.

"Beware of the brokenhearted," said the grandmother, "for they will lead you astray."

Outside, it started to rain even harder.

"That's all of us, though, Granny, isn't it?" said Louisiana over the noise of the rain.

"Aren't we all brokenhearted?" (132)

These three unlikely misfits help each other cope with their broken hearts and do good deeds as "the Three Rancheros"! 

Old Mrs. Borkowski dies and while at her funeral, Raymie is upset, but Louisiana appears by her side and hugs her while she cries. 

"Shhhh," said Louisiana. She patted Raymie on the back..."I'm sorry for your loss."

Raymie heard the squeaky sound of air entering and exiting Louisiana's swampy lungs...

"There, there," said Louisiana. "You just keep crying." 

Her lungs squeaked and her bunny barrettes made clicking sounds each time she patted Raymie's back...Raymie would have thought that there would be no comfort to be had from someone as 

insubstantial as Louisiana holding her, but it was actually very comforting, 

even with all the barrettes and lung wheezing. (148)

Unfortunately, Louisiana's grandmother was there to steal some food for them. Unwittingly, Louisiana leaves the auditorium through an emergency exit, setting off the alarm, but further aiding her grandmother's escape, avoiding apprehension! 

And so it is that through calamity and chaos: a runaway grocery cart with a girl and dog, a swimming dog, a girl who cannot swim, a girl just rescued from drowning, a hospital stay, a Little Miss Central Florida 1975 contest winner, and a trip to the top of Belknap Tower, that Raymie Clarke, Beverly Tapinski, and Louisiana Elefante truly do become "the Three Rancheros" and love and support each other as true friends do. Oh, and Archie. How could I forget about Archie? :)

This is definitely one for my grandchildren to own and read.

Have you read any of DiCamillo's books?

I find her writing style to be unique and touching. 

Childhood drama, trauma, and Gilbert's extreme "clannishness"!

Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

Join the Green Gables Read-Along initiated by Reeder Reads!

Ah, Anne must accustom herself to a new home, Ingleside:

  I once thought I would never love it. I hated it when we went there first...hated it for its very virtues. They were an insult to my dear House of Dreams....I reveled in a luxury of homesickness for a while. Then...I found little rootlets of affection for Ingleside beginning to sprout out. I fought against it...I really did...but at last I had to give in and admit I loved it. And I've loved it better every year since. (10)

Anne did finally adjust, especially once she had gardens established and more than enough children to fill the house! 
I love the way Susan always addresses Anne as "Mrs. Dr. Dear"! It is so very sweet and yet respectful...

In this sixth installment we learn much more about Anne and Gilbert's offspring, especially some of their various (and rather common) trials and tribulations! There is the time that Jem was missing and the whole town was out looking for him--he was found safe and sound right in the house! It seems that several of Anne's children have inherited her own creative imagination. Her Walter reminds me so much of Paul Irving from Anne's first teaching position and Anne herself...
  Walter was lying awake in his bed trying to escape from the haunting thought that he was to go away next day by giving free rein to fancy. Walter had a very vivid imagination. It was to him a great white charger,...on which he could gallop backward or forward in time and space....The black plaster-of-Paris cat on the library mantelpiece was a fairy witch. It came alive at night and prowled about the house, grown to enormous size. Walter ducked his head under the bedclothes and shivered. He was always scaring himself with his own fancies. (36) 
Ah, shades of his mama and the way she and Diana became so scared they wouldn't walk certain paths at night! :) 

Enter the main 'tribulation' of the moment for Anne and her children, particularly Susan, and much less for Gilbert as he (comparatively) spends so very little time at home--Gilbert's own "Aunt Mary Maria" (actually his father's cousin)! She reminded me so much of my mother it was scary! As Anne became a bit perturbed by said "Aunt,"
  "I think I'll go upstairs and lie down"... She kissed Walter good-bye rather casually and hurriedly...very much as if she were not thinking about him at all. Walter would not cry. Aunt Mary Maria kissed him on the forehead...Walter hated to be moistly kissed on the forehead...and said:
  "Mind your table manners at Lowbridge, Walter. Mind you ain't greedy. If you are, a Big Black Man will come along with a big black bag to pop naughty children into."
  It was perhaps as well that Gilbert had gone out...and did not hear this. He and Anne had always made a point of never frightening their children with such ideas or allowing anyone else to do it. (38)
This resonated so strongly with me. I also tried to never use fear as a motivator for my own children in any way. In my opinion, that should be reserved for the truly dangerous lessons--you could get hit by a car if you run into the road, you will get burned if you touch a hot stove, etc.--for it loses it's efficacy if overused and teaches children to manipulate emotions to influence people, rather than encouraging the development and use of intellectual logic and rationale to understand, reason, and learn. 

Walter's experience at Lowbridge is short-lived as he is so traumatized that he actually runs away the first night and walks SIX MILES to return home, convinced that his mother is dead. Upon entering the house at the first light of dawn and being comforted by Susan and assured Mother has not died, he tells Susan,
  I suffered awful agony of the mind"... (52)
OMGoodness! Is that not cute? So dramatic, and yet so very sincere! Anne reassures him,
  "Oh, Mummy, you're not going to die...and you still love me, don't you?"
  "Darling, I've no notion of dying...and I love you so much it hurts. To think that you walked all the way from Lowbridge in the night!"
  "And on an empty stomach," shuddered Susan. "The wonder is he is alive to tell it. The days of miracles are not yet over and that you may tie to."
  "A spunky little lad," laughed Dad... (52)
I love Susan's "and that you may tie to" phrase! Upon obtaining a promise from his parents that he needn't ever leave home again unless he wanted to do so, he hesitates saying that he will never want to leave again, realizing that he wouldn't mind seeing Alice again! Ah...the attraction to girls had just begun. :)

Susan tells Rebecca Dew that
  ...Nan and Di have named their old china doll with the split head after Aunt Mary Maria and whenever she scolds them they go out and drown her...the doll I mean...in the rainwater hogshead. Many's the jolly drowning we have had, I can assure you. (60)  
I had to laugh! Although Susan's well aware Anne and Gilbert would put a stop to this practice, she keeps this secret ritual from them. Unfortunately, this "Aunt" extends her initially announced two-week stay into many months, which was not uncommon at that time. Relatives might 'visit' for years..or even decades! Anne and Susan are both frustrated and upset with this visitor's behavior, but Anne keeps trying to rationalize and be kind to her...ultimately, it is her over-the-top kind act that ironically upsets Aunt Mary Maria enough to return to her own home and leave them in peace yet once again! Again, I laughed out loud!! Montgomery's humor is so well-timed! As Anne rather guiltily realizes, "I've never sped a parting guest so willingly." (80)

In the process of trying to make a match between two people who were already secretly engaged, Anne 
  ...ruined her dining room carpet, destroyed two treasured heirlooms and spoiled her library ceiling....[T]here is one consolation...Jen Pringle's letter today saying she is going to marry Louis Stedman whom she met at my party.The Bristol candlesticks were not sacrificed entirely in vain. (100)
Jem worked and saved his money to purchase what he thought were real pearls for his mother's birthday party, then discovered they were not real--he was devestated.
  "Oh, Mother dearwums, those pearls aren't real pearls...I thought they were...I did think they were...did..."
  Jem's eyes were full of tears. He couldn't go on.
  If Anne wanted to smile there was no sign of it on her face. Shirley had bumped his head that day, Nan had sprained her ankle, Di had lost her voice with a cold. Anne had kissed and bandaged and soothed; but this was different... this needed all the secret wisdom of mothers.
  "Jem, I never thought you supposed they were real pearls. I knew they weren't...at least in one sense of real. In another, they are the most real things I've ever had given to me. Because there was love and work and self-sacrifice in them...and that makes them more precious to me than all the gems that divers have fished up from the sea for queens to wear. Darling, I wouldn't exchange my pretty beads for the necklace I read of last night which some millionaire gave his bride and which cost half a million. So that shows you what your gift is worth to me, dearest of dear little sons." (113)

Jem is seemingly unlucky with befriending and loving dogs, Diana and Nan are both easily conned by other girls who feed them lies, Rilla tosses a whole cake into the stream rather than delivering it to the church as promised because she thought it would be awful to be seen carrying a cake! As Anne muses about her girls, 
  They were still hers...wholly hers, to mother and love and protect. They still came to her with every love and grief of their little hearts. For a few years longer they would be hers...and then? Anne shivered. Motherhood was very sweet...but very terrible. 
  "I wonder what life holds for them," she whispered.
  "At least, let's hope and trust they'll each get as good a husband as their mother got," said Gilbert teasingly. (194)
Anne considers:
  Well, that was life. Gladness and pain...hope and fear...and change. Always change! You could not help it. You had to let the old go and take the new into your heart...learn to love it...and then let it go in turn. (212)
Her final prayer:
...Dear God,...help all mothers everywhere. We need so much help, with the little sensitive, loving hearts and minds that look to us for guidance and love and understanding. (33)
Of course, this should include fathers and all caregivers to children, not just mothers. :)

I am always left with such an appreciation for Anne's kindness, generosity, and respect for all by the end of each of these books! It really is inspiring to me! How about you? Have you read any of these Green Gable books? If not, perhaps you will...

Choldenko's Al Capone Series--the last two installments of the trilogy! Not just for kids!!

I was lucky enough to purchase all three of the books in Choldenko's Al Capone series at the library book sale! I have read and reviewed the first book, Al Capone Does My Shirts: A Novel, and loved it so much, I want to share my thoughts about and reactions to the other two installments in this trilogy as well. Besides, my grandson, to whom I will gift these books, is preparing to move with his family over 1,700 miles away soon and I want him to leave with these in hand!

Yep! Mine looks
just like this! 

Ms. Choldenko replied to my email message containing the link to my blog post, asking me if I would care to read and review an advance copy of her newest book, Chasing Secrets, due to be released August 4, 2015! And...offered to send me a copy! Now, let's consider: (1) I am an "avid" reader (Some might say 'obsessive,' but they would be wrong!), (2) I love to share my impressions to what I've read via blog posts, and (3) I value nothing as highly as getting to know the authors whose work I truly admire. Of course my immediate response was--I would be more than happy to read and review this book prior to its release!! And thank you!! :) (Happy dance time for sure!) This is one of the things I miss most about working at Borders, after all: free books and many of them ARCs received prior to release! But I promised myself that I would not begin reading that book until I had completed a blog post about these two... :) (I bargain with myself in this way quite often!)

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko

The second book in this series finds Moose with more worries than before, wondering exactly what Mr. Capone might require as payment for making Natalie's admission to the Esther P. Marinoff School happen...for the second time! On the morning of the big occasion of Natalie's return to school, 

Nat's mouth puckers to one side. "Moose school. Natalie home," she says. 

  "Not today," my mother says brightly. "Today is your big day. Today you're going to school." 

  "Not today," Nat tells her. "Not today. Not today."

  I can't help smiling at this. Natalie likes to repeat what you say and here she's repeating my mom's exact words with a change of inflection that makes them say what Natalie wants them to say and not at all what my mother meant. I love when Natalie outsmarts Mom this way. Sometimes Nat is smarter than we are. Other times she doesn't understand the first thing about anything. That's the trouble with Natalie--you never know which way she'll go. (5)

Remember, Moose's older sister, Natalie, exhibits behaviors and symptoms of what would have probably been diagnosed as autism decades later. Daily life for Moose is quite different with Nat at school:
  I can't remember the last time my mom made me breakfast.
  I hate to admit it but it's nice having my mother to myself this way. We've been three people and an octopus all my life, and now the octopus is gone. It's not Natalie that's missing so much as the hubbub around her. The wild-goose chase of what to do and how to help her--one heartbreak chasing another. 
  What's left now is just my mother and me. How strange this is. How quiet. (55)
I do believe life can be just as different for "normal"/healthy siblings as for those displaying symptoms of autism, Asperger's, and the like. 

  At the table, she sits with me while I eat, as if she has nothing better to do. "You're a good son, Moose," she says as I help myself to another pancake. "A good brother too. Don't think I haven't noticed." 
  ...This is not how my mother usually behaves. She doesn't notice me except in relation to Natalie. 
  "I wonder if you'll forgive me," she says in a voice barely audible. 
  "For what?" I manage to say. 
  Again her eyes search my face. "For being so wrapped up with Natalie," she whispers.
  I stuff my mouth full of more pancake to push the unexpected feelings down. (56)
Awwww...having a 'special' child puts added strain and tension on the family members, though I believe that overall, the siblings benefit from learning hands-on about respect and willingness to accept and help others.

There is more interplay among the Alcatraz kids and Scout, especially with regard to adolescent hormones and who likes who. :) And the way Moose delivers roses is hysterical! As they say, whatever could go wrong, did! Although we gain additional insight into Trixle's personal life, it only solidifies our feeling that he is mean, with no compassion toward others. :(

Annie and Moose are 'having it out' regarding Capone's expectation of payback when Moose finally whispers,

"So are we going to play ball."

  Annie rolls her eyes. "Jeepers, Moose. Something like this happens and all you can think about is baseball?"

  "Yeah,...It is." 

This passage rang so true of an adolescent male! I had to laugh!

Call it paranoia, but Moose wonders if the scratchy shirt that gave him hives, the constant plumbing problems in his apartment, and some of the comments made to him directly by Buddy Boy and Willy One Arm (who keeps Molly in his shirt pocket except when she's balanced on top of his head), aren't all part of a master plan... And then the kids all work together, each contributing to prevent a disaster... 
  Life is complicated. You'd think on a prison island--what with the bars and rules and everything--it would all be so clear...but it's not. (256) 
Have you ever done something wrong for the right reason? 

     Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko

It's tougher than you might think... 
  No one believes I live on Alcatraz. Even my eighth-grade history teacher made me write on the chalkboard I do not live on Alcatraz two hundred times. 
  My mother couldn't buy stockings... They wouldn't take her check, on account of it said: Helen Flanagan, Alcatraz Island, California. My father had trouble getting his driver's license. They thought he was an escaped prisoner too stupid to fake his address, instead of an officer at the most notorious prison in North America. (1)

This is the first day that Moose's father assumes his new job as Associate Warden at the famous Alcatraz prison. Moose is worried, believing his "dad is too nice to be a warden." Especially once he learns about the 'points system' maintained by the cons...killing a warden earns the most points possible, even just injuring one is worth a lot! 

Fire breaks out in the apartment where Moose and his family live and the Trixle's are determined to blame it all on Natalie, to get her and her family off the island. Moose muses,
  Out the window, a sailboat rips across the bay with a big tan guy holding the tiller. The lives of people like that seem so easy. My life is never like that. (40)
Isn't it the truth? Don't we all feel like that on occasion? As if others live such an idyllic life...while ours is anything but?!? Though if we knew that person well enough, we would be aware of the challenges he must surmount in his own life...no one has a 'perfect' life though it may appear to be so from a distance. 

It is after the fire, Moose is back in his family's apartment looking for items that can be salvaged, when he discovers the blue homework notebook that he thought was lost. With relief, he realizes he won't have to rewrite his school essay after all.
  That's strange. How could I have missed it before?...I won't have to do the paper again! Doing your homework twice is like puking, the having to eat your own vomit. (83)
Ugh! Now that's a vision I didn't want to have! :) Though it does sound like a young male teenager's thought! Upon inspection, Moose discovers notes left on his essay: 
  On the top of the first page of my thesis about Roosevelt and his polio, it says State problem in handwriting that is hauntingly familiar. 
  Al Capone has sent me notes before. I know his handwriting really well. 
  But how did he get his hands on my homework? It must have been the cons working on our place. Somebody took my homework and gave it to him. 
  Except why'd he write that? He doesn't like my thesis? He's my English teacher now? 
  And then on the bottom of the last page he wrote: 
  Roosevelt is a good fella, but Capone is the guy you should be writing about. Okay, Roosevelt had that polio problem, but he was born rich. Capone started with nothing. He earned every penny himself. 
  Capone messed up my homework. How strange is that? A gangster did my homework. Not just any gangster either--public enemy number one.
  Luckily, he wrote in pencil. (83-84)
Ah, Moose later learns Capone had given him a huge clue, though in a way so subtle that none of the other cons would suspect, and unfortunately, Moose doesn't pick it up as quickly as he wishes he had...though he manages to intervene at the last minute. 

There is more than one mystery contained within this third installment, and Piper must finally confess and suffer the consequences of her actions. This is the most complex of the three books. It is heartening to see how all the kids work together. All in all, another well-written story by Choldenko. I don't know if she has plans to write any more books in this series, but I hope so... Even if you don't feel compelled to read these yourself, they would, in my opinion, make an excellent gift for a young reader!