To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Egmont 

Released: 21st of February 2019 

Avery (Night Owl) is bookish, intense, likes to plan ahead, and is afraid of many things. Bett (Dogfish) is fearless, outgoing, and lives in the moment. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and their dads are dating each other.

Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same camp for the summer vacation. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends – and possibly, one day, even sisters.

Against all odds, the girls soon can’t imagine a life without each other. But when the worst happens, and their dads break up, Avery and Bett must figure out a way to get them to fall in love again. Is keeping a family together as easy as they think it is?

From two extraordinary authors comes this moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters.

What I Have to Say 

This beautiful reverse Parent Trap style novel was just perfect. I loved the two girls and their voices so much. Their emails back and forth to each other while they tried to split up their dads made me smile and laugh.  They both had such distinct voices and the way they kept saying that they would never meet each other and they were obviously going to be complete strangers at the same time as asking each other random get to know you questions and becoming best friends was completely wonderful. It felt really real and genuine, the way that young girls really interact. 

It was great to see a gay relationship between the parents of the girls. Both had single dads, Avery's dad having never married and Bett's having been married but had his partner die. It was a great way to show the different types of relationships that gay parents can be in. It was nice to see the representation go beyond two gay people in a committed relationship having a child. 

I adored the email format of this book as well. I don't know what it is about a book told through letters or emails or even diary entries, but I just find them so fun to read. They're a bit of a change from the regular style of story, I suppose. I'm not sure I'll ever get bored of all the interesting and different ways that people find to tell a story. 

Perfect for anyone who loves plucky young girls trying to change their parents dating lives. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Egmont for providing me with this free copy for review. 

Dramarama by E. Lockhart

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 9th of February 2017 

Two teen theatre-fanatics. One dream. And SUMMER DRAMA CAMP.

All-round theatre-enthusiast, Sarah - better known by her showbiz name, Sayde - is a girl with ambitions too big for the small and conventional town she lives in. Her life doesn't have the razzle-dazzle she craves. For once she wants to feel special, noticed and be the centre of attention.

This summer Sadye has her talents set on Wildewood's prestigious theatre summer camp. And with her best friend Demi - a flamboyant falsetto, who is equally thrilled to be leaving their small town of Brenton - they will both experience a season of hormones, hissy fits, jazz hands, song and dance, true love and unitards! But despite all the glitz and glam, there comes rivalry and competition, and Sadye will have to prove her talents more than she has ever had to before. 

Summer at Wildewood will not only determine Sadye's future - but will also test her friendships.

What I Have to Say 

There were a lot of things I liked about this book and some things that I didn't. It was a good book. It was well written and had a really interesting way of telling the story by turning to the micro-recorder transcripts at time. I liked the characters and the whole atmosphere of the drama camp. 

But it got really intense with all the emotions that Sadye was struggling. Even though the signs that she was struggling were there from fairly early on, it still felt a bit like the carpet was pulled out from under me half way through. Like the fun story of drama camp that I'd signed up for was suddenly not the story that I ended up reading. Though I did like the ending. It was fitting and I felt it suited Sadye really well. 

I liked Demi. A lot. He was fun and dramatic and a really great personality. And I know that gay men have a huge history in finding a place to exist in musical theatre. I don't want to deny that by what I say next. But I just feel that it would have been much cooler with a gay girl and a straight guy. It would have changed the expectations and shaken things up a bit. 

Overall though, it was a really good book. It had a lot of very intense emotions and important things to say. 

My thanks go to Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review.