Having spent almost a fourth of my life in Louisiana, Sarah Guillory’s middle grade novel, Nowhere Better Than Here enticed me. Jillian Robichaux loves her home with bayou sunsets, a story-telling grandmother, and interacting with the nature she finds in the coastal town of Boutin.
The worst flood of the century and rising tides threaten to bring all of that to an end. The local school has become a second home after her father abandoned Jillian and her mother. Community members have become like family. Now, the school is condemned along with the bridges into town. Neighbors are making hard choices about leaving or staying. What can a thirteen-year-old do against what seems like impossible odds? Then the deserting father turns up needing his own shelter from the storm. In a bit of a bright side, he brings a lovable golden retriever with him.
Jillian discovers that her grandmother is not the only Boutin resident with stories and finds a way to preserve the history and hope for the community she loves. Sarah Guillory tells a great story with accuracy for the lay of the land in South Louisiana and its challenges from climate change. I recommend it for middle schoolers and for those who love that area and its unique character.