Raymie is not sure about a lot, but she's absolutely sure that her plan to get her dad to come home will work. It has to. She's going to learn how to twirl a baton and do good deeds, and then she's going to win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition. She'll be famous and her dad will see her picture in the paper and he'll have to come home.

 

Raymie has an idea of what it means to be a good person. She looks to Florence Nightingale as her inspiration to do the good deeds she hopes will help her win the competition. She meets the two other girls who are taking baton lessons with her, Louisiana and Beverly. The three of them become unlikely friends, and in their everyday adventures they learn that each of them has hardship in her life. And Raymie learns that she doesn't have to be like Florence Nightingale to be a good person, she just needs to be herself.

 

In addition to being a book about friends, this book is a look at how others feel loss and loneliness. Not everyone shows their emotions, and sometimes it's hard to tell what people are feeling on the inside. This is a great read for anyone that likes books about relationships or friends.