Title: Because of Winn-Dixie
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Family
Dates read: 23rd – 27th May 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year: 2000
5th sentence, 74th page: “I don’t know,” I told him.

When ten-year-old Opal Buloni moves to Naomi, Florida, with her father, she doesn’t know what to expect – least of all, that she’ll adopt Winn-Dixie, a dog she names after the supermarket where they meet. Before long, Opal and her father realize – with a little help from Winn-Dixie – that while they’ve both tasted a bit of melancholy in their lives, they still have a whole lot to be thankful for.

This was such a fun, easy and sweet novel. It would have been amazingly easy to just read it cover to cover in one small afternoon, with a big smile on my face (the only reason this didn’t happen is because I haven’t sat still for an entire afternoon in a little while). India Opal, Winn-Dixie and the Preacher are a great little family that so obviously needs help. Actually, the whole rag tag bunch of characters that make up this story need a bit of a helping hand. And I love that this comes in the form of a slightly unorthodox and scraggly dog.

The underlying current of India Opal’s sadness at the loss of her mother is a little heartbreaking and it winds its way throughout the storyline so seamlessly. her own yearning to find a sense of belonging is further backed by the melancholy that seems to haunt every character in this story. Each and every person Winn-Dixie and India Opal come across are lonely and feeling some kind of loss. Yet, it surprisingly didn’t make a sad story at all. I was expecting a little bit of tragedy and an ending that would bring tears to my eyes. I even had a box of tissues next to me when I was getting close to the end…. There’s been very few stories I’ve read that feature a dog that doesn’t end in some kind of tragedy. But this didn’t. that feel good, wholesome vibe continued right the way through. And it was completely amazing.

This might not be the kind of story that I’m going to pick up once a year for a nice, fun revisit. But it is the kind of story that I will pick up again years down the track. When I need a reminder that not every tale is tragic and that there is always hope in the world. That it doesn’t matter how down life gets you, there is always something positive just around the corner…

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