Narrated by: Phoebe StroleE-Audio, 06:20:54Release Date: October 1, 2019Published by: Balzer + Bray
Read from: November 20-22, 2019Stand-aloneSource: LibraryTW:For fans of: MG, Best Friends, LGBTQIAP+, Body Positivity, Contemporary, Coming of Age
The first middle grade novel from Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’ (now a popular Netflix film), is a funny, heartwarming story perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead, Ali Benjamin, and Holly Goldberg Sloan.
Patricia “Sweet Pea” DiMarco wasn’t sure what to expect when her parents announced they were getting a divorce. She never could have imagined that they would have the “brilliant” idea of living in nearly identical houses on the same street. In the one house between them lives their eccentric neighbor Miss Flora Mae, the famed local advice columnist behind “Miss Flora Mae I?”
Dividing her time between two homes is not easy. And it doesn’t help that at school, Sweet Pea is now sitting right next to her ex–best friend, Kiera, a daily reminder of the friendship that once was. Things might be unbearable if Sweet Pea didn’t have Oscar—her new best friend—and her fifteen-pound cat, Cheese.
Then one day Flora leaves for a trip and asks Sweet Pea to forward her the letters for the column. And Sweet Pea happens to recognize the handwriting on one of the envelopes.
What she decides to do with that letter sets off a chain of events that will forever change the lives of Sweet Pea DiMarco, her family, and many of the readers of “Miss Flora Mae I?”
*MY THOUGHTS*
In Julie Murphy's first foray into Middle Grade, this one is a definite winner! I really enjoyed reading this and getting to know Sweet Pea. She had some troubles and some triumphs, but what 7th grader doesn't?
Sweet Pea's family is going through some changes. Her mom and dad are getting a divorce, but they want to keep things the same for Sweet Pea. So, they move into seperate houses, but they're only one house away from each other. The neighbor in the middle is the eccentric, Flora Mae. She's the famous advice columnist that works for the newspaper. One day Miss Flora Mae has to go out of town and entrusts Sweet Pea with getting the letters to her so she can keep the column going. But things start to get difficult when all of a sudden, one of the letters is written by someone she knows. She decides she wants to answer it.....
The best thing about this book hands down was the characters. I loved Sweet Pea and her bestie, her parents, and even the unlikely friendship that came up. I really enjoyed seeing all the things they went through and how they interacted. I think that's my favorite part of MG's in general. Seeing the difference of how YA characters and MG characters treat certain issues is always cool to me.
And of course, I loved the writing style. Julie Murphy is one of my favorite authors, so I don't really care what age group she writes, I'm going to give it a try. And I loved that this had the signature Julie Murphy flair!
This was a super cute read and I hope everyone loves it as much as I do. Whether you're looking for laughter or to be in your feelings, this one has it all. There's something here for everyone.
Overall, I give this
