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A review by mxhermit
To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan, Meg Wolitzer
4.0
Rep: Brazilian/African-American MC (Bett); Mexican-American/Caucasian-Jewish MC (Avery); allergy rep (peanut); MC w/ asthma
What are two girls to do when their lives are upended and they're sent to summer camp to become best friends while their dads fall in love? Break them up! But what happens when that backfires, they start becoming actual best friends and trouble brews between the papas? It leads to a whirlwind of adventure between coasts and camps as Bett and Avery, who never thought they'd ever have anything in common, must figure out how to make things work not only for their dads, but in their own lives.
Authors Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer embraced the voice of their 12-13 year old protagonists. Each letter felt full of the energy from the two of them, whether it was Bett talking exuberantly about surfing and her rescue dogs or Avery and the many topics she researched due to worry or interest.
Through these letters, while Bett and Avery were figuring each other out, including the situation with their fathers (meeting, falling in love, sending their daughters to camp, etc.), it was interesting to see how they viewed the world around them, particularly the people that entered their lives.
As children experiencing the events of To Night Owl from Dogfish, they saw things in a different way than the adults in the book (and those reading it) would, such as when Kristina, Avery's non-custodial biological mother, shows up at the first camp the girls are staying at. Some supplementary letters from other character provide alternate view points, which added to the viewpoints of the novel and gave some perspective from older persons.
Those letters were a bit strange, however, in the tone that they presented. While I commended the authors earlier for embracing the voice of their adolescent characters, I think the voice of their adult characters felt too juvenile most of the time.
Timing was an odd thing in the book. The action was told almost entirely in emails, sometimes in handwritten letters, but there were never any dates or timestamps on those emails. Sometimes months were mentioned, the return date of the girls' dad was stated, but other than such instances the transition of time was marked well so it was as if the events of the book existed in some sort of vacuum.
Bett did seem to over/misuse the word trigger more than a few times, which at first I thought stemmed from a child's figuring out how to express her emotions and limits than a blatant misunderstanding of the severity of triggers by the authors. As the girls progressed with their learning in other areas though, I'm not quite sure if I could count myself as disavowed of this notion because Bett did keep using "trigger" to describe situations that I didn't think were appropriate.
To Night Owl From Dogfish is a fun novel to read because there's complications, there's a journey, and there's a strong development of friendship. Bett and Avery are definitely the focus, but readers will find themselves equally interested in the side characters and the descriptions of the girls many summer activities, from the food to the interactions with fellow campers.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Quotes included are from an advanced reader copy and may not reflect the finalized copy.
What are two girls to do when their lives are upended and they're sent to summer camp to become best friends while their dads fall in love? Break them up! But what happens when that backfires, they start becoming actual best friends and trouble brews between the papas? It leads to a whirlwind of adventure between coasts and camps as Bett and Avery, who never thought they'd ever have anything in common, must figure out how to make things work not only for their dads, but in their own lives.
Authors Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer embraced the voice of their 12-13 year old protagonists. Each letter felt full of the energy from the two of them, whether it was Bett talking exuberantly about surfing and her rescue dogs or Avery and the many topics she researched due to worry or interest.
Through these letters, while Bett and Avery were figuring each other out, including the situation with their fathers (meeting, falling in love, sending their daughters to camp, etc.), it was interesting to see how they viewed the world around them, particularly the people that entered their lives.
As children experiencing the events of To Night Owl from Dogfish, they saw things in a different way than the adults in the book (and those reading it) would, such as when Kristina, Avery's non-custodial biological mother, shows up at the first camp the girls are staying at. Some supplementary letters from other character provide alternate view points, which added to the viewpoints of the novel and gave some perspective from older persons.
Those letters were a bit strange, however, in the tone that they presented. While I commended the authors earlier for embracing the voice of their adolescent characters, I think the voice of their adult characters felt too juvenile most of the time.
Timing was an odd thing in the book. The action was told almost entirely in emails, sometimes in handwritten letters, but there were never any dates or timestamps on those emails. Sometimes months were mentioned, the return date of the girls' dad was stated, but other than such instances the transition of time was marked well so it was as if the events of the book existed in some sort of vacuum.
Bett did seem to over/misuse the word trigger more than a few times, which at first I thought stemmed from a child's figuring out how to express her emotions and limits than a blatant misunderstanding of the severity of triggers by the authors. As the girls progressed with their learning in other areas though, I'm not quite sure if I could count myself as disavowed of this notion because Bett did keep using "trigger" to describe situations that I didn't think were appropriate.
To Night Owl From Dogfish is a fun novel to read because there's complications, there's a journey, and there's a strong development of friendship. Bett and Avery are definitely the focus, but readers will find themselves equally interested in the side characters and the descriptions of the girls many summer activities, from the food to the interactions with fellow campers.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Quotes included are from an advanced reader copy and may not reflect the finalized copy.