Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

Candlewick Press

Flora & Ulysses:  The Illuminated Adventures
Kate DiCamillo
K.G. Campbell
2013

The Summary
Flora Belle Buckman is a cynic.  Ulysses is an unassuming squirrel.  That is, until he's suddenly turned into a superhero after an incident with a monstrous vacuum cleaner.

Now, gifted with incredible superpowers, Ulysses, under the tutelage of Flora, must learn how to use his new found abilities to protect the innocent and save the world.

After he finds something to eat, of course.

The Good
As I have a fondness for squirrels - and I was unexpectedly enchanted by the cover - I decided to read Flora & Ulysses:  The Illuminated Adventures, and I'm very glad I did.  It's an enjoyable little novel (albeit a little strange) with unusually quirky characters and a heart-warming story riddled with adventure and intrigue and danger.

Some part of me adores cynical, comic book-reading Flora Belle Buckman.  I loved her sense of humor and her desire to hope, her love of comics, and her fondness for sweet, heroic Ulysses.  She's such a sweet character, even when she's trying not to be, and she has such hope for little Ulysses.  And I loved that she was constantly changing, constantly learning, building and repairing relationships.

Although the other characters involved in Flora and Ulysses' adventures are unusual, I enjoyed them just as much.  William Spiver, Dr. Meescham, Mr. Buckman and Mrs. Buckman, and others, were all so strange (I might even say downright weird), but they were genuinely nice people who adapted to new circumstances and learned lessons from their mistakes - and, in the end, showed how much they cared for young Flora.

I really did enjoy Flora & Ulysses.  While it may be a children's book, it has a complexity to it that I think speaks to readers (of all ages) who have endured a parents' divorce and, more importantly, dared to hope when it seemed hopeless.

The Bad
It's a children's book, so I doubt it will appeal to all readers.  However fans of Because of Winn-Dixie, lovers of squirrels and superheroes, and younger readers may find something to enjoy in DiCamillo's novel.

The Ugly
Life can be messy.

And life, especially the life of a squirrel, can be rather brutal.