Ferris

The masterful Kate DiCamillo, twice winner of the Newbery Medal, has outdone herself with a hilarious and achingly real love story about a girl, a ghost, a grandmother and growing up.

It’s the summer she turns 10, and for Ferris Wilkey, it is a summer of sheer pandemonium. Her little sister, Pinky, has vowed to become an outlaw. Uncle Ted has left Aunt Shirley and, to Ferris’s mother’s chagrin, is holed up in the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. And Charisse, Ferris’s grandmother, has started seeing a ghost in the doorway to her room – which seems like an alarming omen given that she is feeling unwell. But the ghost is not there to usher Charisse to the Great Beyond. Rather, she has other plans – wild, impractical, illuminating plans. How can Ferris satisfy a spectre with Pinky terrorizing the town, Uncle Ted sending Ferris to spy on her aunt, and her father battling an invasion of raccoons?

Kate DiCamillo’s latest balm-for-the-soul of a novel. . . 'Ferris' is full of love . . . deeply satisfying. The New York Times Book Review
DiCamillo’s gift for conveying an entire person and world in a few brushstrokes of storytelling provides depth and quiet magic to this account of an eventful summer. . . Tenderly resonant and memorable. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Terrifically zany, it certainly is, but it’s also wonderfully grounded in deep familial bonds, a tight-knit community, and the beautiful idea that every relationship is a love story in its own way. The kindly town and its eccentric inhabitants come to life via comical anecdotes and gorgeous descriptions, and it all sets the stage for some truly transcendent moments that will leave readers in a state of wonder, no matter their age. It’s a spectacularly silly and perfectly sincere exploration of what it means to stay tenderhearted in a sometimes challenging world. . . It's a DiCamillo! That alone should get patrons lining up for this one. Booklist (starred review)
Populated by offbeat, compelling characters with rich histories, this bustling and empathetic tale by DiCamillo (The Puppets of Spelhorst) ponders the courage it takes to love someone and the necessity of inconvenience in life through the eyes of one emotionally curious tween. Publishers Weekly
The limited third-person narration glimpses other lives but never dwells on them, thus leaving Ferris’s honest, preadolescent perspective to drive the story line. As Clarisse tells Ferris, “Every good story is a love story.” Here, DiCamillo adeptly proves this axiom. The Horn Book

Kate DiCamillo is one of America’s most beloved storytellers, author of The Tale of Despereaux and Flora and Ulysses, both of which have been awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal; Because of Winn-Dixie, which received a Newbery Honor; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; and the hugely popular trilogy of stories about the Three Rancheros: Raymie Nightingale, Louisiana's Way Home and Beverly, Right Here. Born in Philadelphia, she grew up in Florida and now lives in Minneapolis, USA, where she faithfully writes two pages a day, five days a week.

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