Author of the Day: Kate DiCamillo

Author of the Day is a new segment that I have that has mini book reviews about one certain author, basically.
Kate DiCamillo is an author that I have a love/hate relationship with. I don't dislike her books, but I don't like them so much either.
Here are some books that I read by her:

Because of Winn-Dixie

This book is about a girl named Opal who finds a dog . . . and makes friends . . . and has emotions . . . that's it.

You may have heard of this book. They made a movie out of it, in fact. Now, I don't think that most of Kate DiCamillo's books are worthy of being made into movies, but this book is about a dog, so Hollywood just said "Come on, guys. People spend their money on book to movie adaptations all of the time. And this one has dogs. Dogs." I digress.
I feel like this is one of Kate DiCamillo's best books because it has her usual quirky and interesting characters, but I feel like she gave each of them more complex stories (like the girl who always looks pouty) and it made them seem like real people, which I really like in all of her writing.
But there wasn't much of a plot. It was like "I made a sandwich. My mom used to eat sandwiches. *emotional turmoil* Okay. I'll do something lighthearted and endearing now." For about 200 pages. So . . . yeah.


The Tiger Rising

This book is about a boy named Robert who finds a tiger . . .  and meets a girl . . . and has emotions  . . . that's it.

This was the second book I read by Kate DiCamillo and I liked it. Sure, it had many similarities to Because of Winn-Dixie.
-It's about a kid who moves somewhere new with their single parent because their other parent died.
-Animals bring the characters happiness and an escape from their problems.
-Southern accents.
-Quirky characters with weird names.
-Kids who like to make strange metaphors that I suppose make sense somewhat
But the ending is a little different.
Overall, I liked this book. I read it in maybe two hours, probably less, but I don't feel like the length of a book measures how much you'll enjoy reading it.



The Magician's Elephant

This book is about a magician who accidently summons an elephant and cripples someone. Then this boy believes that the elephant can lead him towards his long lost sister because some shady fortune teller told him so. Fantastic.

I disliked this book. It just dragged on and on and on and on and I honestly didn't care what happened to the characters. I feel like it's one of those books that teaches you to just simply believe and it will be so. That's not quite how it works. The characters were quirky, but it was becoming a little old. I forget what happened to the elephant in the end, so I don't know what on earth the magician did with it. And you know what? I don't care.
The book was just screaming at me "The idea behind me is a little half-baked, but if I drag it out and add illustrations you might not notice . . ."
A lot of characters were introduced into the story, and I had a nice moment at the end when I realized "Ahhh . . . that makes sense." But up until then, the writing just felt weird and I didn't like it so much.



The Miraculous Journey or Edward Tulane

I haven't finished this book yet because I obtained it yesterday.
*Funny story, my favorite doll was once thrown off of a boat, too. So if it weren't for the nice people rafting nearby who retrieved my doll, she could have gone on an adventure.
Basically, this story is about a self-absorbed china rabbit who falls into the ocean and goes on an adventure.

I don't mind this book so far. It's not the most amazing book, but it doesn't suck so far. I think I prefer it over a few of Kate DiCamillo's other books because it crosses over into more of a fantasy story than her usual realistic fiction. I'm enjoying it so far, minus the creepy grandmother and the parents who are sheltering their seemingly bratty daughter. I'll find out soon enough.

All in all, I've read a lot of Kate DiCamillo's books and I can't really tell you for sure if I'm a fan of any of them. Of all of these, I would recommend Because of Winn-Dixie, because it's a quick and easy read and you might enjoy it. Kate DiCamillo is a decent author, so be sure to read at least one of her books.

Book Talks: The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

**To view spoilers, drag your mouse over the empty space between"<SPOILER>...<SPOILER>"
This book. This. Freaking. Book.
This.
Freaking.
Book.
When a friend was telling me about this book, I was under the impression that it would be good.

I'm sorry. I don't quite understand how I feel about this book, so I'm just kind of typing aimlessly, trying to gather my opinion.
It's about a boy, I didn't bother to remember his name, who is going through a lot of inner turmoil, and then POOF. A lion appears. Then, he meets a girl who is also going through a lot of inner turmoil, and he's like, "I have a lion!" That's the gist of it.
I'm not even joking.
Anyway, this book is really short and I feel like it had no plot. I read it in just a little over an hour, and felt like it didn't have much of a resolution or a story or anything. So, let's talk about the book.
<SPOILER ALERT! I'M BASICALLY GOING TO REVEAL EVERYTHING ABOUT THE BOOK, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT, LEAVE!>  Okay, Rob finds a tiger in the woods. Rob meets Sistine. Sistine hates him immediately and supplies no good reason why. Rob shows Sistine the tiger and he fantasizes about the tiger. Sistine says "I think we should let this extremely lethal tiger go, just because." And Rob says, "Okay." Then, the lion gets shot and Rob has an emotional breakdown. Duh. There are beware of dog signs. LIONS ARE NO SAFER. Aside from that, I like that all of Kate DiCamillo's characters have interesting quirks and hobbies and even names. Take Sistine, for example. She's a sassy girl from the north who wears dresses but doesn't like to and doesn't take nothin' from no one and gets in tons of fights at school. She is a character. Anyway, what was the plot? Rob misses his mom and shoves stuff inside of a suitcase. Is that really a plot?
I don't think I dislike this book, but it was . . . unique, for sure. <SPOILER>