Oh, my heavens, I don’t even know where to start with this book! It was just the best. History, romance, suspense. It’s one of my favorite kinds of books. I liked the way it was written, it was almost like it was in third person, yet it was in first person. (Does that sound weird? It’s sort of hard to explain.) I was a little confused by the cover, because it gives the impression that the book is more of a Middle Grade contemporary love story, rather than a MG historical fiction, with a little crush in the mix. But either way, I loved the story!

Title: The Romeo and Juliet Code

Series: The Felicity Bathburn series #1

Author: Phoebe Stone

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Publication date: January 1, 2011

Source: borrowed from the library

Synopsis: A sudden trip to a seaside house. A boy with brown sugar eyes. And then , a mysterious letter.
Felicity’s glamorous parents have a secret. When they leave her with distant relatives in Maine, far away from the battles of WWII, Felicity hopes they won’t be gone for long. Her new Uncle Gideon hides things. Her Aunt Miami is star-crossed. And Derek, a kid her age, refuses to leave his room.
But Felicity needs Derek’s help. Gideon is getting coded letters from Felicity’s parents, and she’s sure they’re in trouble. Can Felicity crack the code, heal the family and save her parents, all while surviving her first crush? It’s a tall order for a small girl, but Felicity is up for the challenge.

So, the book is a historical fiction. I mean really, the cover and description are so vague. At first, by the cover, I thought it was a contemporary, like I said, and then I was thinking “Oh, WWII, maybe it’s a flash-back sort of thing,” but it’s not. And it’s not all lovey-dovey, either. So there’s that. The cover is just all wrong.

But the story is all right. Sooo many mysteries, and then I didn’t even know something was a mystery until the end and it was just crazy good. Felicity (or Flissy, as her family calls her), is sent to live in Maine with her American relatives while her parents go back to London, closer to the war. And you know what? I’m really liking the British perspective. Between this one and Finding Ruby Starling, I really want to read more books set in England!

The historical aspect of the book is perfect. From the mentions of seeing the newspaper headlines to give the reader a feel for what’s going on, and Felicity sending and receiving a letter from President Roosevelt, it’s not so in-your-face, but it also plays the main role in the story.

Flissy’s crush was so sweet, as well. As I said, it’s not a romance, but then at the end you get a little feeling that there’s something between Felicity and Derek, but they’re eleven and twelve, so it’s not going to be anything big. Just enough to make your heart swell. 😉 (Another misleading thing… the title. There actually is a Romeo and Juliet Code, it’s not just referring to Felicity’s crush.)

The ending was wonderful. I was flabbergasted, really. Some threads were still left undone, but I give it the benefit of the doubt, because there is a sequel. (Which I am SO SO SO excited to read! (*Squeeeee!!*)

5 stars!

So what do you think of The Romeo and Juliet Code? Sound good?

Dear Opl completely knocked my socks off. The book is, as Shelley Sackier describes, “a humorous look at grief, obesity, and diabetes.” It really is exactly that. I was pleasantly surprised at Opl’s witty, sarcastic humor on some heavy topics. The book addressed many things, yet kept me laughing out loud!

Title: Dear Opl

Author: Shelley Sackier

Publication date: August 4, 2015

Source: e-ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) from Netgalley

Synopsis: After two years of hiding beneath a sugar-laden junk food diet meant to soothe the bitter loss of her dad, thirteen-year old Opl Oppenheimer is told she’s gained so much weight she’s pre-diabetic and now must start weighing far more than she ever bargained for.
There are three things that keep Opl busy during her eighth grade days: fighting the new “mock meat and healthy colon” cafeteria cooks, attempting to crush a celebrity chef’s reputation because he slings mud on any food that tastes good, and finding a pair of jeans that still fit. What she doesn’t count on is needing time to win back her best friend, illegally employing a penniless ex-rodeo clown, and solving the problems of teenagers who write in for advice on her blog. Finding room to fit everything in is proving as impossible as following her mom’s ridiculous diets. Only now, Opl has no choice. It’s do or die. How Opl determines what it is she’s truly hungering for and how to fill herself and her world is the heart of this timely, contemporary novel.

There were two things that bothered me about the book, so I’ll start with those, so that we can end on a good note. =)

1: In the beginning of the book, Opl really bothered me. She showed no interest in shedding her weight, even when she got the news that she was pre-diabetic, and was completely rude to her one good friend. While she was hilarious, and I did love the humorous insight to the issues the book addresses (grief, obesity, friendship, diabetes), at times her humor came off as sarcastic and whiny. She could also be ignorant, and there were parts of the book that made her sound dumb.

2: Opl’s little brother, Ollie, confused me. Opl doesn’t completely pay attention to her brother, but does mention the fact that he’s always dressed up in some costume or another: Lady Gaga, Mrs. Clause, ER nurse. This wasn’t explained at all, and I wasn’t sure to make of it since it didn’t seem to have to do with the story at all. At the end of the book, this is explained, and it made perfect sense. But for most of the book, Ollie sort of had me scratching my head. He was just sort of there, but unexplained.

Not too many low points, but they did turn me off. Now, let’s move onto the pro’s!

1: Just like another book I’ve recently read, Finding Ruby Starling, I loved Dear Opl‘s positive view of the internet. It was neat, reading about a thirteen-year-old girl who blogs, in a book! (Of course, I could relate to Opl on that note!) Opl’s friends and family encouraged her to blog, and I loved seeing how blogging became an outlet to Opl, a safe place where she could share her thoughts and get feedback from others.

2: Opl craves food. All the time. So much, this book is one of the few that’s made me SERIOUSLY HUNGRY! I loved the character development in Dear Opl, and Opl’s food cravings played a big role in that. As she decides to eat healthier and become more active, this slowly fades away, yet the focus on what Opl is really hungering is perfectly written and addressed, and I loved that.

3: Alfie Adam. Mr. Adam is the British chef determined to change the way people eat, one country at a time. (He plays a real-life Jamie Oliver in the book.) Opl’s opinions on “The Grunch” (Grinch + Lunch) had me rolling my eyes and laughing all at once. I remember watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution with my family when it was on TV. Watching some of the kids in the schools absolutely refuse to try any new healthy food, even after seeing how the junk food they eat is processed, had me dropping my jaw – completely grossed out! I couldn’t even begin to understand those kids. (My family and I can go on sugar spikes, but for the most part, our pantry is full of organic cereals and whatnot.) So now I got to read from the perspective of one! I loved it.

4: So many topics, all in one book. Just to name a few: Obesity. Diabetes. (Health, in general.) Loss. Grief. Seventh-grade friendships. Bullies. Acceptance. Family. And a lot more. They all touched on each other, and everything wrapped up to blend one story together. No loose threads were left hanging.

All-in-all, Dear Opl was a fantastic read, and I think I’ll buy the book once it comes out, since I enjoyed it so much!

3 stars! (A few main flaws, but overall enjoyable!)

Would you like to read Dear Opl when it debuts in August? Have you read anything that sounds similar?

Finding Ruby Starling was nothing like I expected it to be! The book was cute, and funny, and everything I love in a Middle Grade contemporary – but there was also a turn of events I most definitely wasn’t expecting. The book is written through a series of emails between Ruth and her long-lost twin sister, Ruby, and their friends emailing them. The voice of a modern-day twelve-year-old is so on point, it was hilarious!

Title: Finding Ruby Starling

Author: Karen Rivers

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Publication Date: August 26, 2014

Source: borrowed from the library (hardback)

Synopsis: THE PARENT TRAP comes to the digital age!

When Ruth Quayle used a special app to search for pictures of herself online, she found dozens of images of “Ruth Quayle” — and one of “Ruby Starling.”

When Ruby Starling gets a message from a Ruth Quayle proclaiming them to be long-lost twin sisters, she doesn’t know what to do with it — until another message arrives the day after, and another one. It could be a crazy stalker … but she and this Ruth do share a birthday, and a very distinctive ear….

Ruth is an extroverted American girl. Ruby is a shy English one. As they investigate the truth of their birth and the circumstances of their separation, they also share lives full of friends, family, and possible romances — and they realize they each may be the sister the other never knew she needed.

I love how the book is described in its blurb – “The Parent Trap comes to the digital age!” I love long-lost twin stories, and I especially loved how Ruth and Ruby reacted when they found out the truth, thanks to some pictures on the internet. I thought I was going to cry, I was laughing so hard! Here’s an excerpt from when Ruth emailed Ruby about being twins.

And then, just like that, it was obvious. I figured it out!!! It wasn’t like in movies where the heroine solves the case and then there is a big swell of music, even though I sort of felt like there should be. My eyes were overflowing with tears. Because… well… Ruby Starling, WE ARE IDENTICAL TWINS!

At first, I was a little wary about the book because a lot of internet lingo was used, like “obvi” and “j/k.” The first several emails had a lot of exclamation points and all-caps, and I was worried Ruth would be like that the entire book. I really liked Ruby best at first, because this is how I would react if something emailed me this.

‘Ruth’: You are mad. Bonkers. Get stuffed. And don’t write to me again, please. Your note was very upsetting. Yours truly, Ruby Starling P.S. You are very good at Photoshop. A little TOO good, don’t you think?

Everything – from the reactions, voices, and feelings – of the twelve-year-old girls is SO perfect. I can totally see a twelve-year-old girl being just like that! I couldn’t even imagine an adult writing the book. Karen Rivers’ voice was just so funny. I really hope my friends (who aren’t much of a bookworm) read this book, because some of them (cough cough Sydney) talk just like Ruby and Ruth. 😉

I also loved the parents in the book – Ruby’s and Ruth’s. They were very realistic, and great parents, but of course you see through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl, and the way Ruby and Ruth see the world and their parents is realistic, too. However, the girls weren’t rebellious and didn’t talk back to their parents, even though (in my humble, thirteen-year-old girl opinion), their parents didn’t really pay attention to their daughters at times.

I didn’t like how Ruth’s dad talked about Buddhism all the time, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. I mean, hey, Buddha did have some good quotes. Ruby’s mom totally bugged me, too. It wasn’t until the end of the book that Ruby FINALLY got to talk to her mom about having a twin. I was so anxious to see how that played out, and it really went deeper than I thought would happen for this book. How could a mom keep one twin and not the other?!

Another interesting aspect of the story was the internet. Aside from emails, Ruth also had a tumblr blog, and that was really neat. I don’t think I’ve read a book like this one in the way that it portrayed and used the internet to tell the story.

I also didn’t know that this was the second book in a series – it turns out some of the characters in this book first appeared in The Encyclopedia of Me by Karen Rivers. I really didn’t need to read the first one to understand Finding Ruby Starling. I think it’s more of a companion novel than a sequel, which is great. I can’t wait to read The Encyclopedia of Me, though!

Finding Ruby Starling gets five stars!

Have you read Finding Ruby Starling or The Encyclopedia of Me? What do you think of them?