Ratings10
Average rating4
From two extraordinary authors comes a moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters. Avery Bloom, who's bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who's fearless, outgoing, and loves all animals as well as the ocean, lives in California. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and are both being raised by single, gay dads. When their dads fall in love, Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same sleepaway camp. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends--and possibly, one day, even sisters. But things soon go off the rails for the girls (and for their dads too), and they find themselves on a summer adventure that neither of them could have predicted. Now that they can't imagine life without each other, will Bett and Avery (who sometimes call themselves Night Owl and Dogfish) figure out a way to be a family?
Reviews with the most likes.
For the Read Harder Challenge category of an epistolary novel or collection of letters. This was a big surprise. I don't usually enjoy YA or Meg Wolitzer, but I loved this book. Yes, it's an updated Parent Trap, but I totally bought into it and loved Grandma Gaga.
I picked up this book because it was on Modern Mrs. Darcy's 2019 summer reading guide and I'm glad I did! It's a quick read written in epistolary format (emails and letters) about two teenage girls who start out horrified that their dads are dating and end up choosing to be sisters of a sort. It's a light read but there is a lot under the surface to think about too. It was fun to read this in one day and about one sitting.
Would have been 4, but I'm knocking off a star for the ending. Still super cute, but a little disappointing.
What a pleasant surprise! I didn't intend to read this as it didn't seem like something I would really enjoy, but after reading a few pages I was hooked. I love the way the book was written and the characters were all very likeable. In the end I could not put this book down until I finished it. So I read it in a day. Highly recommended.