The masterful Kate DiCamillo has outdone herself with a hilarious and achingly real love story about a girl, a ghost, a grandmother and growing up.
It’s the summer before fifth grade, and for Ferris Wilkey, it is a summer of sheer pandemonium. Her little sister, Pinky, has vowed to become an outlaw. Uncle Ted has left Aunt Shirley and, to Ferris’s mother’s chagrin, is holed up in the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. And Charisse, Ferris’s grandmother, has started seeing a ghost in the doorway to her room – which seems like an alarming omen given that she is feeling unwell. But the ghost is not there to usher Charisse to the Great Beyond. Rather, she has other plans – wild, impractical, illuminating plans. How can Ferris satisfy a spectre with Pinky terrorizing the town, Uncle Ted sending Ferris to spy on her aunt, and her father battling an invasion of raccoons?
Recommended for ages 9+.
Read some great reviews from our Preview readers here:
I enjoyed the book Ferris by Kate DiCamillo. I liked how it was funny, dramatic and inspiring. I would recommend this book to my friends because it is about relationships between family and friends. I would like my friends to read it because it is heartwarming and we could chat about it. My favourite character was Pinky. She was very determined and a bit scary. I also liked Billy Jackson because of his love of music and kindness. My favourite part of Ferris was when the chandelier was lit up and everyone was sitting underneath it. It sounded so magical. Lucy, aged 10, ACT, 5 stars
This story was very funny. I really liked all the vocabulary words in it that Ferris and Billy used. I’m glad they explained them because I didn’t know what all of them meant. Adriana, aged 8, NSW, 5 stars
I loved reading this book. It had great characters and I loved the ending. Ferris and her sister are my favourite characters as they are not only fun but quirky as well. I thought it was absolutely beautiful that ‘every story is a love story’ and found that very relatable. Aakira, aged 11, NSW, 5 stars
We really enjoyed this book. Some of Mrs Mielk’s words were a little hard for our 9-year-old but the 11-year-old loved learning the new words throughout. We all agreed that Pinky (while cheeky) was our favorite character. We loved all the antics she got up to. Thank you for letting us be a part of this book review. P.S. my mum cried at the end! Aubree, aged 11, WA, 5 stars
Just delightful! My granddaughter and I read this together, a chapter each and both loved it. Lots of life lessons among a funny and entertaining tale. Sadie, aged 8, VIC, 5 stars
Ferris is a lovely kids book that will also make adult readers smile. It’s full of hope and optimism, although the action focuses on quite a few not-so-good things. Grace (10) thought: Most of the characters weren’t well defined – I don’t really know who they “are”, except Pinky. She’s really vivid, but I wouldn’t want to be her! . But I really enjoyed the novel and wished it was longer. I’d recommend it to other readers. Mum said: I found the plot amusing and believable. The novel is infused with a lot of emotion, and underlying much of the action is Ferris becoming aware of adult emotions and how they drive behaviour. This is pretty subtle; younger kids probably won’t pick up on things that might disturb them. The emotional subtlety was one of the things I enjoyed most as an adult reader. An awful lot is implied rather than set out explicitly, and found much of it very moving. Both my Miss Ten and I enjoyed reading this novel, and we’d both recommend it. Grace, aged 10, Lorraine, ACT, 5 stars
“Every good story is a love story” says Ferris Wilkey, the 10-year-old protagonist of Kate DiCamillo’s latest offering, and this is certainly true for this wonderful, heartfelt story. Set in a timeless small town uncomplicated by mobile phones and technology, where Ferris’s six-year-old sister can roam wild and attempt to rob a bank, DiCamillo explores the love between Ferris and her best friend Billy Jackson, their love for their newly divorced teacher Mrs Mielk (and her vocabulary words), and Ferris’s great, enduring, overwhelming love for her parents, and her gravely ill grandmother, Charisse. Peppered with quirky characters – Uncle Ted who has moved into their basement to paint a history of the world yet has only painted a single foot, Cosmetologist Aunt Shirley who gives Ferris a ridiculous new hair style every time she delivers a message from Uncle Ted – this novel explores one summer in the life of Ferris as she tries to come to terms with Charisse’s malaise. Rather than sink into morbidity, the story is told with DiCamillo’s trademark humour, as seen through the eyes of our young protagonist. Ferris is a truly beautiful, wildly funny story, and DiCamillo has created a new heroine for young people. Lizzie, NSW, 5 stars
Ferris is a lovely story about families, siblings, love and imagination. Ferris has a summer full of family dramas with her little sister Pinky becoming an outlaw and her grandmother seeing a ghost. With her friend Bobby by her side Ferris navigates her way through the perms, bank heists and raccoons. Wendy, QLD, 5 stars
This was an excellent easy to read book. Kate has done an excellent job in telling this story. I liked the storyline and it kept me reading each page. Indi, aged 9, SA, 5 stars
A lovely story of Ferris growing up with her sister Pinky and the dramas of life at that age funny and well written older primary school kids would like. Anita, NSW, 5 stars
Ferris is going into 5th Grade at school and his little sister Pinky is becoming a outlaw. His grandmother is seeing ghosts. Can Ferris save the town from a invasion of raccoons. What a wonderful children’s read. So funny and gloriously spectacular. Noeleen, WA, 5 stars
A beautifully written story. Heartwarming and fun, full of characters you connect with immediately. Looking forward to reading this with my class. Karla, VIC, 4 stars
Ferris tells the story of her family and how even though they don’t always get along, they make it work. Their house was still filled with lots of love and they helped each other out when they needed each other. Ferris is an interesting character who has a love for vocabulary and uses this to comfort her when she is anxious. I liked that Ferris could zone out, it was like she could go to another dimension. I wish I could do this sometimes. My favourite character was Pinky. I liked her as she was rebellious and naughty. It made me laugh that she wanted to be an outlaw with her picture on a wanted poster and tried to hold up the bank. But best of all was what she did with her teeth!!! I didn’t really like the ghost part of the storyline, but I did like the chandelier part. I really liked the way they had to work out how to get the chandelier lit and how it made everyone happy. It bought them all together. This book was totally different to what I expected but I really enjoyed it. Claire, aged 11, NSW, 4 stars
Kate DiCamillo has given us a story of real life and one that is so relatable! Her latest novel ‘Ferris’ is centered around Emma Phineas Wilkey (who everyone calls Ferris) and her relationships with her best friend, Billy Jackson, her Mum & Dad, her endearing Grandmother Charisse, her sister Pinky, the dog Boomer and everyone in between (including the ghost and the raccoon!). Everyone has their own life problems and their own joys to share and there isn’t a character in this book that you can’t help but want in your own life… to talk to and to share life experiences with. Afterall… every good story is a love story and Kate DiCamillo has certainly created a great love story of life called ‘Ferris’. Roman, aged 10, NSW, 4 stars
Ferris is a book where the author has expertly created a world that reflects the life of a fifth grader. The characters are detailed and relatable which contributes to the realness of the many interesting characters. Kate DiCamillo expertly represents Ferris’s cluttered and busy mind as many issues and challenges surround her. The relationship between the two siblings, Ferris and Pinky, is a well-crafted representation of the annoyance and love involved in having a younger sibling. In all this clutter Kate successfully inserted break time for the readers and the characters. This was given through the times when Ferris and Billy sat on the roof of Big Billy’s shop, and when Ferris sat with Charisse at her bed. These were all placed into a short and well-paced novel filled with many points that connect with our lives. Gabriel, aged 13, NSW, 4 stars
A playful and heartwarming tale for 8-10 y/o, full of amusing drama and positive messaging. ‘Every good story is a love story’ is an appropriate tagline for this book, which is relationship focussed and full of family and friendship and all types of love – parental, siblings, best friends, pets, spouses, and the special bond between a grandparent and grandchild. I loved the addition of Mrs Mielk’s vocabulary words and their definitions – a subtle way to introduce young people to unfamiliar words, without them having to consult a dictionary or parent. Now that I’ve read & reviewed, I’ll be passing this book onto my 10-year-old nephew to enjoy! Kylie, VIC, 4 stars
I really liked this book. While it wasn’t super exciting it was easy to read and funny and just a nice story. The characters were really interesting and relatable too and they were all unique but also very real. I think my favourite part about this book was how the author gave descriptions of difficult words. It was a really smart way to help the reader learn new words and how to use them. I would definitely recommend this book to kids who want something enjoyable to read but also want to learn new things as well. Stella, aged 10, WA, 4 stars
Ferris Wilkey born at the base of a Ferris Wheel and delivered by her grandmother Charisse. A bond the two share. Charisse is seeing a ghost and wants to help it find its way. Pinky (Ferris’s sister) gets up to all sorts of mischief – never a dull moment with her around. Other family members are living in the household, each with a dilemma of their own, and seemingly up to odd things. A book adapting to change and growing up. Kimberly, aged 12, NSW, 4 stars
With a cast of memorable characters, “Ferris” is an absolute delight. There is much to enjoy in its quirkiness and it will appeal to middle-grade readers looking to read a slice of the life of a slightly whacky family. Ferris is dealing with an unfortunate perm her aunt gave her, which makes her look as though there is a wild animal crouching on her head, while her younger sister, obsessed with being an outlaw, does things like nail an X-ray of her tummy with a paperclip inside to her bedroom door. Luckily Ferris has a solid friend in Billy by her side as well as a hairy hound called Boomer. This is a story about love – family love, love of pets and friends and even the love of words. Short chapters help to propel along a story which is stronger in zany anecdotes than plot. Judith, NSW, 3 stars
Ferris tells the story of the summer before Emma Wilkey enters 5th Grade. The summer proves to be eventful with a troublesome younger sister, a grandma with a mission to help a ghost and a love story. I liked that the story introduce the reader to new vocabulary through Ferris exploring new and interesting words. The characters were quirky and unique. Tehliah, ACT, 3 stars
I read Ferris and then gave it to my 10-year-old niece to read. I enjoyed the story about 10-year-old Emma Phineas Wilkey otherwise known as Ferris due to the fact that she was born under a Ferris wheel. There were twists and turns in the story involving various family members and the appearance of a ghost whom only the grandmother Charisse could see. My niece was not very keen on the book mainly I think when I spoke to her because there were words like dime and animals like a raccoon in the book which are not Australian, and she said that the wording was different. I think maybe this is the first American book that my niece has read, and I could see as an adult why she was reviewing it the way she did. Angela, aged 10, QLD, 3 stars
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo is a charming story for young readers from eight up. The main character and her best buddy, Billy Jackson, have just completed Grade 4. They are surrounded by Ferris’ family; Pinky, who is 6, her grandmother, Charisse, her parents and Uncle Ted. Each character has their own oddities but all find acceptance. It is a story of love, family, tolerance, acceptance and humour. Pinky is a very adventurous girl who finds herself caught up in outrageous situations. Charisse sees ghosts. Uncle Ted is painting the history of the world. All is not plain sailing for the family. Then there is Mrs Mielf, the teacher responsible for Ferris’ and Billy’s love of words, Billy’s father and Uncle Ted’s wife who all add to the humour and emotion of the story. A delightful story for the young reader. Thanks to Better Reading and Walker Books for my copy. Michael, ACT, 3 stars
Ferris by Kate Di Camillo is about a young girl named Emma Phineas Wilkey (nicknamed Ferris). Ferris is about to enter fifth grade but during the summer holidays she faces some strange and surprising problems. Ferris has a younger sister named Pinky, her mother, father, uncle and grandmother Charisse, Ferris is very close with her grandmother and loves to hang out with her best friend Billy Jackson. She’s a quiet person and likes to study words and their definitions. My thoughts on this book are very mixed. I found that as I was reading, I couldn’t get into the story, I easily lost track or got easily distracted. Although it was a nice light easy read it just wasn’t my usual genre. One thing I did like about this book was the use of definitions of words throughout the book, Ferris would come across a different word that I wouldn’t be familiar with and then analyse the word in her own head and spell it out. This helped me out at times when I wasn’t sure of a word that I hadn’t heard before. Another thing I liked was Ferris and Charisse repeating the phrase, “every story is a love story”. I liked that phrase because it was sweet, kind, and pleasant saying that summed up Ferris and all the people that she cared about. Although Ferris didn’t really hook me or interest me, I still found it sweet and likable, but found the content a bit young for my 13-year age group. Overall, I would recommend this book to children who are aged 9 -11 years old, who enjoy a light book mixed with learning and expanding their vocabulary. Claire, aged 13, TAS, 2 stars
This is an American English-spelled book, probably aimed at children aged between 8 and 12 years old, kindly sent to me by Better Reading for review. I believe it is set in small town America in the c.1980s because it mentions things that children today would not be familiar with such as carbon paper, so there will be some explanation required. It is a quirky tale full of interesting characters, including a ghost. Ferris is a young girl whose little sister, Pinky, wishes to become an outlaw and, in her quest, tries to rob a bank and pulls her tooth out with pliers she stole – not a good role model for the reader. Likewise, Ferris’ uncle uses Ferris to act as a go-between in his attempts to secure a reconciliation with his hairdresser wife Shirley, the latter who perms Ferris’ hair without seeking parental approval or clear permission from Ferris. I found the book’s major strength was in introducing the reader to a wide vocabulary, complete with definitions. In addition, it highlights the value of love and community but these strengths did not overcome my concerns. Pamela, VIC, 2 stars
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