Beverly Right Here by Kate DiCamillo

Beverly lives with her drunk mother and her beloved dog.  When her dog dies, she can't bear to stay where she is and catches a ride to a town a couple of hours away.  Though only 14, she happens to find a job and a place to live.  She lives with an old woman who treats her with kindness and she begins to make friends in the town.  Is this a place where she can make a new life, or will the call of home, as flawed as it is, become too strong?

This is the third in the series that began with the award winning Raymie Nightingale.  In this story we find out what happens to Raymie's crusty friend, Beverly.  I liked Raymie Nightingale okay, but it wasn't my favorite, so I am not sure why I picked this one up.  Once I started reading it, though, I remembered why I am pretty much always willing to read something by DiCamillo.  She is just an amazing writer.  If you ever need an example of the adage, "Show, not tell"  DiCamillo is the master.  She is so good at showing thoughts and moods by body movement and gesture. She must just watch people all the time and take notes of different things they do with their hands and faces.  It is pretty amazing.  The story of this book was sweet, but unexceptional, but it is worth the read just as a writing lesson.  (it is also clean which is rare for teen fiction). (2019, 256 p.)