Beverly, Right Here

Kate DiCamillo is the author of the coming-of-age novel for young readers, Beverly, Right Here (2019). DiCamillo is a well-known, award-winning author of a bevy of books for children—including Because of Winn-Dixie (2000) and The Tale of Despereaux (2003)—and Beverly, Right Here is the third book in the Three Rancheros series. The first book is Raymie Nightingale (2016), and the second book is Louisiana’s Way Home (2018). Raymie, Louisiana, and Beverly are friends from Florida, and their books reference one another. Yet the reader doesn’t have to know the first two books to appreciate Beverly’s story, which addresses themes, such as Presence Versus Absence, Facing the Cruel but Kind World, and The Need for Connection.

The guide’s page numbers refer to the 2019 Candlewick Press edition.

Content Warning: Beverly, Right Here features violent bullying, child abuse, and a moment of nonconsensual touching.

Plot Summary

Beverly Tapinski is 14 years old during August 1979. She lives in Florida, and after she and her best friend, Raymie, bury her beloved dog, Buddy, Beverly experiences an intolerable empty feeling and flees her hometown. Beverly has run away before, but this time she’s not running away: She’s leaving.

Beverly gets a ride with her troll-like cousin, who drops her off in Tamaray Beach. She gets a job busing tables at a fish restaurant, Mr. C’s, and calls her mom from a phone booth. Her mom battles alcoholism, but she doesn’t sound “too drunk,” so Beverly tells her she’s fine, but she won’t tell her mom her location.

Iola lives in a nearby community for people whose homes are trailers. She spots Beverly and invites her into her trailer for a tuna melt. In exchange for driving Iola to bingo and the grocery store, she lets Beverly live with her and turns her porch into Beverly’s room. Beverly mentions that Iola doesn’t know her: Beverly could be a “criminal.” Iola trusts Beverly and thinks they can help each other.

Mr. Denby runs Mr. C’s, and Mr. Denby’s wife and three kids live in Pennsylvania. Harried and anxious, Mr. Denby pays everyone in cash and without paperwork. Freddie is the condescending waitress with a questionable modeling career and a far-fetched dream of Hollywood stardom. Doris is the assertive cook, and Charles washes the dishes (Charles was a star college football player until he tore his tendon).

Near Mr. C’s is Zoom City, a convenience store with a metal, coin-operated horse ride in front. Elmer, a teen boy who battles acne, works at Zoom City. He got a scholarship to the prestigious university, Dartmouth, and he likes art but wants to be an engineer. One of his art books features a painting of the Annunciation, wherein the angel has blue wings, and the blue (lapis lazuli) captivates Beverly. She and Elmer bicker, with Elmer suggesting he’s a 10,000-year-old rabbit hunter.

Beverly meets Freddie’s boyfriend Jerome, who’s tawdry and wolfish. Mr. Denby thinks Jerome is bad news. Beverly steals the graduation tassel from Jerome’s truck and tosses it in the nearby ocean. Jerome confronts her about the tassel, but Beverly evades him. Jerome calls Elmer “Elmer Fudd,” and Elmer says Jerome violently bullied him and copied his math work. As Elmer and Beverly become friends, Beverly wants to hurt Jerome or “destroy” something. Instead, she goes to the beach and thinks about the unfair world. Her esteemed dog is dead, but the execrable Jerome is alive.

Iola plays bingo at the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the US (VFW) center, and the VFW will host a Christmas in July dance in August, where there’ll be a raffle to win the world’s largest turkey. Iola wants to win the turkey, and Beverly invites Elmer to Iola’s trailer for tuna melts. He draws Iola and Beverly. Elmer invites Beverly to the dance, and Beverly buys more than 80 raffle tickets and writes Iola’s name on the back of them, giving her a lopsided chance to win the humongous turkey. Unsurprisingly, Iola wins.

Fed up with the working conditions at Mr. C’s, Doris and Charles strike. Their demands include higher wages, sick days, and doing everything “proper.” Mr. Denby tries to hold his ground, but Doris easily bosses him around. Beverly sides with Doris and Charles, and Freddie calls Beverly a “traitor.” The strike closes the restaurant, and the turkey won’t fit in Iola’s trailer, so Elmer, Beverly, and Iola bring it to Mr. C’s and keep it there. Mr. Denby surrenders to Doris and Charles, and Elmer suggests a Christmas dinner. Doris approves the idea and forces Mr. Denby to keep Mr. C’s closed another day so they can have the Christmas feast at Mr. C’s. Jerome almost ruins the feast when he robs Mr. C’s with a Wiffle bat, but Charles vanquishes him.

Tommy Junior, Iola’s son, arrives, and he wants Beverly gone. Beverly agrees: It’s time for her to go. Iola knew Beverly would leave, but she didn’t want her to—they had so much fun together. As Louisiana and her grandma suddenly disappeared, Beverly can’t call her. She calls Raymie and asks her to come and get her. Afterward, she goes to Mr. C’s to help prepare the Christmas feast. In the restaurant, Beverly’s heart lifts, and her insides flutter.