Beverly Right Here

Beverly Right Here
Kate DiCamillo
Candlewick, September, 2019 256 pages
Grades 5-8
Realistic Fiction

DiCamillo returns to the world of Ramie Nightingale to relate the story of the remaining Ranchero, Beverly. Beverly runs away from home and her alcoholic mother by hopping in her older cousin's truck and getting off in a small coastal Florida town. She immediately makes friends with an old lady in a trailer park named Iola, who invites her to move in. The two begin to help each other, both in practical matters and emotional hurts, as they share meals and play bingo. Beverly lands a job busing tables in a failing seafood restaurant and makes connections with the workers and the sad owner. Next, she befriends an emotionally damaged convenience store clerk named Elmer. As the two begin to open up and trust each other, a gentle romance develops. Beverly slowly begins to find acceptance and healing, as she puts her past and the death of her beloved dog behind her and figures out how to move slowly and mindfully into her future.

The master of middle grade, DiCamillo, rounds out her trio of books featuring a different Ranchero. The last to get her own story is Beverly and we experience the story directly through her eyes. Four years have passed since the original story, which confused me a bit because the narrative never came directly out and said it war four years later. Eventually I figured out that Beverly has matured from tween to teen, especially as the romance with Elmer develops. DiCamillo's strength always lies in her vivid folksie characters and this book is no exception. The crew from the restaurant, as well as Iola, Elmer, and Beverly herself are well developed and highly interesting. Not much happens within the plot, it is more of a situational character driven story. That said, I enjoyed my time spent in this pivotal chapter of Beverly's life and grew to care about the people within the pages, as I kept turning them. The story is set in the late 1970's, yet the time period is not instrumental to the plot and therefor I would not classify it as historical fiction. The book stands alone and no prior knowledge of the first two books in the trilogy is necessary. Readers who appreciate a thoughtful, quiet story will enjoy the time spent with Beverly and her new friends.