A gorgeous extended-family story of love, grief, and life. Ferris was born at the base of a ferris wheel, delivered into her grandmother's loving hands. She and her best friend, Billy Jackson, are old souls. Ferris doesn't quiet understand her younger sister, Pinky, who wants nothing more than to be a famous outlaw. But she has a lot of words to describe Pinky (and all her experiences), thanks to a fourth grade teacher who emphasized building vocabulary. At a time several years ago, Ferris's father told her, "You have waded deeper into the great river of life." Ferris had no idea what he meant at the time but, throughout the course of the novel, comes to understand what he meant as she experiences the full wonder of life, friendship, love, and belonging. ( )

I have read several children’s books and middle grade novels by Kate DiCamillo, so I was looking forward to reading this one when it was published. And I was not disappointed.

This is a sweet chapter book featuring a fifth-grade girl named Ferris (that’s her nickname, her real name is Emma Phineas). The story is about her and her family, all a little quirky but charming. And the others in the small town where they live are also quirky and charming.

There is a lot of humor in the book, and some grown-up themes that are handled well for the younger readers who are its intended audience. And adults will enjoy it too.

This is a moving, bittersweet, and comical story about family, community, and love. ( )

It is summer, and there is a lot going on in Ferris' house: her beloved grandmother Charisse (and Boomer the dog) see a ghost, who wants the chandelier in the dining room to be lit for the first time ever; Ferris' friend Billy Jackson won't stop playing a song called "Mysterious Barricades" on the piano; Ferris' little sister Pinky is set on being an outlaw with her face on a Wanted poster; and Ferris' uncle has left her aunt and is living in their basement, painting a history of the world. Oh, and Ferris' father thinks there's a raccoon in their attic, but it turns out to be bees.

Ferris is a dreamy sort of Beezus to Pinky's ferocious Ramona, but the sibling relationship is only a part of this book, and the tone is very different from Cleary's series. It is uniquely Kate DiCamillo; it is a love story, but rather than romantic love, it is love for family and the world (a la Our Town: "I love you all, everything!"). Give this, perhaps, to readers of BOB and THE LOST LIBRARY by Mass/Stead.

Quotes

"Every story is a love story. Or every good story is a love story." (6)

"Vocabulary is the key to the kingdom!" said Mrs. Mielk. "All of life hinges on knowing the right word to use at the right time." (20)

"But what's the point of love if people die?" Ferris said, still staring down at Boomer.
"That's what music is for," said Billy Jackson. (44)

"You are too much of a rule follower, Ferris," Charisse had said to her once. "You have to insist on being yourself. Do not let the world tell you who you are. Rather, tell the world who you are. Pinky understands this. She takes it to an extreme, of course." (49)

It was good to know so many words and their definitions; but increasingly, Ferris thought that the world didn't make much sense, no matter how many words you knew. (167)

"From the beginning, you were fascinated, and that is a very good thing to be in this world." (169)

The house felt festive. It felt like Christmas. Or maybe like some holiday that they had all forgotten about and were just now remembering. (186)

"Magic, if you ask me, is mostly about believing in yourself so much that you make other people believe in you, too." (Mr. Buoy to Pinky, 186) ( )

First sentence: It was the summer before Emma Phineas Wilkey (who everyone called Ferris) went into fifth grade. It was the summer that the ghost appeared to Charisse, the summer that Ferris's sister, Pinky Wilkey, devoted herself to becoming an outlaw, and the summer that Uncle Ted left Aunt Shirley and moved into the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. It was the summer that Ferris's best friend, Billy Jackson, played a song called "Mysterious Barricades" over and over again on the piano. Billy Jackson loved music. The very first sentence he had ever spoken to Ferris, was, "I hear piano music in my head all the time, and, I wonder, would it be all right if I held on to your hand?"

Premise/plot: Ferris is Kate DiCamillo's newest children's book. I would say the book is timeless, but, what I truly mean is that the book exists out of time. It could almost be any and every time period. So what is it about? The recurring theme or message is that every story is a love story, or, every good story is a love story. It is very much a story celebrating family and friends and community. Ferris isn't particularly "troubled;" she isn't facing an extraordinary problem that she has to overcome. There are no gigantic, looming conflicts. And THAT is a trend I'd love to see in children's books now and then.

Ferris' grandmother is seeing a ghost, AND has recently been diagnosed with [congestive] heart failure. When she learns from her grandmother that the ghost wants to see the chandelier lighted so that her husband can find her, Ferris sets about doing just that. It isn't so much fulfilling a ghost's wish as it is fulfilling her grandmother's wish too. This is, I suppose, the "big" plot point of the book, but the book has scores of LOVELY quiet moments, ordinary moments, lovely moments where Ferris is just living life. They aren't always calm, peaceful, relaxed moments. But they are the little moments that make up a life.

My thoughts: The writing was solidly good. I do tend to love and adore her writing. I enjoyed the characters. I LOVED the relationships. I think the highlight, for me, are the many, many relationships we get to explore in this one. Do I love the ghost aspect? Not really. Is it a big enough subtraction that I dislike the book? No. ( )