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

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books
Publication Date: February 12, 2019
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

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?

I’ve been reading Pamela Paul and Maria Russo’s How to Raise a Reader and they recommended this book in the Books that Make Us Laugh section. It sounded really cute and I’m not above reading middle-grade fiction for my own enjoyment. I didn’t realize until I brought my copy home that it was written by Meg Wolitzer, who wrote The Interestings (4 stars from me) and Holly Goldberg Sloan, who wrote Counting by 7s (5 stars from me). I knew then that this would be a great book.

Avery and Bett don’t have much in common except for the fact that they are both 12 years old and both being raised by single gay dads. Bett is a California surfer girl who’s laid back and goes with the flow. Avery lives in New York and is Type A and very anxious. One day, Bett emails Avery, who she has never met, that she has discovered their dads are in a relationship. Not only that, their dads are planning on sending them both away to the same camp for the summer so they can get to know each other. Neither Bett nor Avery are happy about this turn of events. They both want their dads all to themselves. And together they form a plan to make that happen…

This story is told through emails and letters. As a parent of a 12-year-old girl, I can vouch that the authors have captured what 12-year-old girls are like perfectly. This book is really funny but has some serious and suspenseful moments in it too. Even though it starts off as sort of a reverse Parent Trap, it takes some turns that I was not expecting. I was impressed that middle-grade fiction could keep me guessing like this book did!

To Night Owl from Dogfish is a really sweet book. Highly recommended!