The Way to Storey by L.B. Anne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Luella is an eleven year old girl who lives with her Gramps next door to a lady she knows as Ma Poo, they live a quiet existence in the Florida swamps where she is homeschooled and taught all about nature, as well as the normal school subjects as well, but spends her leisure time reading or fishing with her Gramps and on the odd occasion watches a bit of TV with Ma Poo. She doesn’t get on well with the other local kids, they call her names and pick on her, but she can run away from them faster than they can catch her, but she does get in trouble for it sometimes. While they are out on the lake, Luella asks her Gramps about Storey, it is a place where Gramps says she is from, he then asks her questions about what she already knows, such as how to get there, to which Luella replies that she has to follow the birds and where her emotions need to be kept, to which she replies in her heart, but Luella doesn’t believe that Storey exists, after all, she found no evidence of it when she searched the house or when she searched for it on the computer in the local library, but when the computer goes haywire, Luella has a feeling that something is coming.

One day some men come to the house and ask where Luella is, even though she has never seen them in her life, but Gramps tells her to stay inside and out of site while he and Ma Poo deal with them, the men won’t take no for an answer and so when Gramps comes back into the house to get his shotgun, he tells Luella to go to their place and wait for him there. When he says this Luella knows it is serious and goes there to wait for him, when he eventually comes to get her it is already night time and so Luella has a bath and goes to bed thinking nothing more about it until her Gramps picks her up out of bed in the morning and tells her to hide in the hidden alcove above her dresser and to stay there no matter what happens. As usual, Luella doesn’t listen and creeps to a window to see what is happening, this is when she sees them force her Gramps into one of their cars and hears people entering the house, this is when she goes and hides while she hears them searching the entire house for her. She only comes out once she is sure she cannot sense their presence in the house and Ma Poo comes in looking for her. When she does, she tells Luella that the people will be back and that she has to gather together her things and come to her place out of the way, but things do not go smoothly and the men come back before the sun even has chance to rise and when Ma Poo is placed in danger, Luella cannot control her emotions and blasts the men away from her.

This is where Luella’s life will change completely, she leaves the only place she has ever known and follows her Gramps instructions to follow the birds and get to Storey as soon as she can, but that she has to do it on her own, as she travels she meets people along the way, but some help and some hinder. Will Luella be able to hold her own and make it to Storey, or will she lose her way and be caught by the people shadowing her every step? This is a fantasy tale of a journey of one girl against the odds which will hook you in and keep you there until you have read the entire thing.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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