Kate DiCamillo hits it out of the park again, in my humble opinion, with this very odd little book, which is about everything and nothing all at once. Raymie Clarke's father has just taken off, leaving her mother depressed and Raymie with a plan. She will win a local beauty contest, get her picture in the paper, and her father will see the picture and call her. First, however, she needs to learn how to twirl a baton. The funny thing is, at the baton class, which goes bizarrely astray, she meets two other girls and they end up having a journey or two -- physically and psychologically. As part of her application for the contest, Raymie needs to do a good deed, and that is where the story really lies. "Why were good deeds such murky things?" she cries at one point. Leave it to Kate DiCamillo to write a book which is innocent, simple and accessible but also layered, complex, symbolic and spiritual. I sped through the short chapters, listening to Raymie's plaintive voice throughout, reaching for something she cannot name and feeling her soul rise and fall with each triumph and loss. At ten, the character is at a magical age where she is still a child, but a growing awareness of the world is beginning to intrude. It all actually ties together, but it isn't what you might expect. A gentle, refreshing, quiet book which will make you think. Brava.
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