Beverly, Right Here

Name: William Joseph
Price range: $

by Kate DiCamillo

Interest age: 12 to 14
Reading age: 12+

Published by Walker Books, 2019

Coming-of-age

About this book

Beverly desperately wants things to be different to how they are. She decides to leave home and, after hitching a ride, winds up in Tamerly Bay, a scruffy seaside town with not much going on. And yet also quite a lot going on…

Determined not to rely on anyone else ever again, Beverly sorts herself a waitressing job and finds a place to stay. But she can’t quite help forming connections with the people she meets: lonely Iola who wants someone to drive her to Bingo; a kid playing on the beach; handsome student Elmer. Before she knows it, she’s drawn into the community and carving out a place for herself. But how long can she really stay? How long can she ignore her past?

14-year-old Beverly is quiet, thoughtful and observant, and much of this story is about the simple, everyday interactions between herself and the people she meets and her thoughts and feelings. It’s about Beverly, right here, in this moment of her life, right now, yet with the future stretched out before her. There’s no dramatic, adventure-filled premise, instead it’s a quiet and thoughtful book, beautifully and gently written and full of hope.

About the author

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 bestselling Mercy Watson series. 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.