To Night Owl From Dogfish

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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?

• ISBN10: 0525554564
• ISBN13: 9780525554561
• Publish Date: 12 February 2019
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Dial Books
• Edition: International edition
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I desperately wanted to read this book for several reasons:

1. I am a HUGE fan of Wolitzer's work. I have read, and adored, many of her adult and YA books.
2. There is just something about camp books that delights me.
3. I love epistolary novels.
4. There is a Parent Trap like storyline in there, and that's a film I will always love.

Well, I am happy to report, that the above mentioned things contributed to a wonderful reading experience, but there was so much more to this novel than what I listed.

I am going to admit, it was insta-love for me. I was smitten with Avery and Bett from their very first exchange. Bett's larger than life personality and tell-it-like-it-is philosophy made me smile, and Avery being so straight-laced and grounded was the perfect foil for her.

The early letters between the two were filled with fun facts and some plotting, but you could also see Bett and Avery discovering some commonalities and a friendship slowly emerging. In addition to seeing their friendship grow and flourish, I also saw the girls grow and flourish. This book took place over two years time, and I saw Bett and Avery mature physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I also loved the idea of family presented in this novel. Both Bett and Avery were being raised by single fathers, and though Avery knew her biological mother, Bett only knew of the surrogate who carried her. It's always lovely to see such diverse families in books. The authors also incorporated the idea of found-family, and I have to say, this "family" was filled with so much love and joy, it was really heartwarming to be around them.

There were so many other things in this book that impressed me too:

• The authentic dialog between the girls
• The hijinks, oh my, they were fun
• Gaga, aka, Betty 1, aka, Bett's grandma ❤️
• A small redemption arc for one of the auxiliary characters
• Animal interactions and the great outdoors
• A pretty dramatic climax
• A twist I didn't expect

I wore a smile on my face from the beginning of this book to the very last page. This story was fun and sweet and touching and emphasized three really wonderful things: friends, family, and love.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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