Dear George Clooney

by Susin Nielsen

[Leah]

Dear George Clooney Please Marry My Mom is one of those books you just devour. I’ve slowly spent 2016 devouring all of Susin Nielsen’s novels (We Are All Made of Molecules, Word Nerd & now this one) and she never lets me down. I thank my lucky stars my library had a display of books up that day in June? July? I don’t even know, but I spotted We Are All Made of Molecules and since then, I have just loved Susin’s other books. She just completely gets what it’s like to be a kid, to be growing up, to go through changes, not always good ones, and her main characters are always spot on (in fact, I am now rooting for a Violet & Ambrose at 16 sequel because their meeting in Dear George Clooney nearly broke my tiny mind, it was so meta!)

Violet is hilarious – any book that opens with, “For the record: I did not mean to send my two half-sisters to the emergency room” is going to be my kind of book. Before I had even known what Violet had done (it was horrific, but I kinda understood her motives? KINDA) I knew I liked her, mostly because I am not that kind of person. I am not made for revenge, or smart enough to use a magic 8 ball as a way to conduct a conversation, but Violet is. Violet can hold a grudge like you’ve never held a grudge before, and I admired her for that, because here’s the thing: I’ve only ever known my parents together, and I suppose I’d feel like Violet did if my dad up and left, even worse if he relocated to LA & popped out two new kids. Even worse when her mom decides to start dating again – it’s tough for a kid to take, even more so since Violet spends a lot of time taking care of her kid sister, Rosie.

Violet may not always make smart decisions, but I applauded her for wanting to take care of her family. For wanting to make sure they wouldn’t end up fractured again, and so her plan to snare George Clooney for her mom was born and I loved it. He’s the perfect guy – and has been for years and years and years. He just doesn’t got out of style, does he? So I can see why that’s who Violet went for and her endeavours were so sweet and funny. I honestly wanted to make her my own sister (with Rosie, because duh!) and keep her away from any harm or hurts.

I genuinely loved this book so much. I raced through it in no time at all, because Susin Nielsen is just that good at hooking you in and keeping you hooked, from beginning to end. She writes such relatable main characters, kids who you just want to squeeze tight and keep safe, because they’re so precious. Susin Nielsen deserves to be read by everybody, her books are outstanding, her writing makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I’m so excited for her new book Optimists Die First because I’ll know it’ll have the same humour, the same heart, the same mix of wonderful plot and delightful characters that have kept me entertained for three books now.