Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

 Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick Press, 2016. Children's chapter book. Fiction.


When Raymie Clarke's father runs away with a dental hygienist, Raymie decides that if she wins a local contest, he will see her photo in the paper and come home. Raymie thinks  she has no talent so she takes baton twirling lessons from former champion Ida Nee. But, another girl in her class, Louisiana Elefante, badly needs the prize money to help her and her grandmother. And, Beverly Tapinski, the third in this unlikely trio, just wants to wreck havoc on the contest. It is 1975 and the fun is just beginning.


 As with all of her books, DiCamillo zings right to the heart of her characters and brings friendship, wisdom, and new identity on the way to growing up. Finding Archie the cat, attending the services for old Mrs. Borkowski, and even Raymie's swimming lessons from the summer before all point the way to new insights and adventures for the girls. DiCamillo brings humor, empathy, and great storytelling together. Readers won't need batons or bunny  barrettes to join the fun!

Beside Myself by Ann Morgan

 Beside Myself by Ann Morgan. Bloomsbury, 2016. Adult fiction.


    When six-year-old English twins, Helen and Ellie, decide to play a game  and switch places, no one knows. But, Ellie, the slower child, decides not to change back. Smarter, good girl Helen is stranded in her sister's life. Twenty-five years later, a call brings the two sisters together. Alternating between an adult sister's confusing and tragic present life and the little girl she once was, the novel provides psychological insights about what it means to be who you are and whether that can be changed. At times creepy and at times just a great mystery, this debut novel is thought provoking and beautifully written.