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Realistic fiction set in 2004. Fast read, short chapters and the reader spends a lot of time in Julia's (the main character) head. Julia has an interesting family dynamic: she calls her sister her Aunt and her niece (and best friend) her cousin, and her mother is in Iraq for most of the story. The story is pretty simple Julia is spending summer with her sister, brother-in-law and niece at the old-fashioned resort they live at while Julia's father puts in a lot of overtime at work throughout the
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Nora Baskin beautifully handles that tender time in a girl's life when she is still playing with dolls but begins to be attracted to boys. Julia and Eliza's close relationship is realistically drawn. The subplot involving Julia and Peter's parents serving in Iraq sets this novel in time and provides a view of the stress that this creates in their families. I was disappointed to see a grammatical mistake on p. 54 where the word lay is mistakenly used rather than lie. It's a common mistake but I h
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Julia is spending the summer before seventh grade living at her (much) older sister's house because her mother, a nurse in the National Guard, has been sent to serve in Iraq. Lucky for Julia, her sister has a daughter, Eliza, who is just her age and also her very best friend. Julia is walking the line between being a girl and playing pretend while dipping a tentative toe into the waters of boys and first kisses. Baskin perfectly captures the tween dilemma of wanting to growing up yet still wanti
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Julia's Mom is serving a term in Iraq, so for the summer before 7th grade, she stays with her cousin Eliza. They are best friends, they go to the same school, so Julia thinks this will be a great summer because then her Mom comes home in August. However, during the summer, Julia starts to want to socialize with the boys around Eliza's house such as Michael. She also likes talking to Peter, whose father is also in Iraq. Slowly the girls grow apart. Will this be the end of their friendship, or wil
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It is rare to find a book that is so solidly representative of the shift from child to tween. In this story, you can almost sense the hormonal change that shifts one girl away from her best friend and into the myopic realm of worrying only about what boys may think of her. There are elements that are not as strong, such as the subplot about her mother on military duty in Iraq. Yet, this book does such of good job of putting the reader in the bewildering shift away from childhood, that those othe
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Cute book addressing what it is like for a girl to leave behind being a little girl with her make believe worlds and entering "teenagedom." (though honestly I don't think that jump means you have to kiss a boy) Also, what it is like to have a mother sent to the middle east.
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Recommended Ages: grades 5-7
"Julia and Eliza are best friends, spending the summer together. Julia's mother is serving in the National Guard and Julia spends all of her time trying not to think about what could happen. So the girls lose themselves in their summer, hanging out at the resort where Eliza's father works. But when they meet a new boy, neither one of them is prepared for what it does to their friendship." - product description
Sweet story about transitioning from childhood to teenager. ...more
"Julia and Eliza are best friends, spending the summer together. Julia's mother is serving in the National Guard and Julia spends all of her time trying not to think about what could happen. So the girls lose themselves in their summer, hanging out at the resort where Eliza's father works. But when they meet a new boy, neither one of them is prepared for what it does to their friendship." - product description
Sweet story about transitioning from childhood to teenager. ...more
Friendship, boys, and a parent in the Iraq War. Lots to think about.
Eliza and Julia are family, and since they have spent a lot of time together, an imaginary game of identities anchored in the past has become a favorite. However, this summer marks their entry interest in boys, and everyone is not equally onboard. This is a coming of age story for girls, and women of all ages will enjoy revisiting that time in their life.
Great characters--the sense of childhood & imagination, and trying to hold onto that--that's all very strong & poignant here. Some of it felt a little melodramatic, but that's how it must have felt to the characters...good writing and realistic characters/feelings/setting.
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Really liked this book. Liked the innocence of a young girls first kiss contrasted with her love of her best friend and learning that friends will always be there and boys will cone and go but not to give up on your friend for a boy. ;)
Apr 24, 2011
Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2011
Emily
marked it as to-read
May 10, 2011
Rachel
marked it as to-read
Jan 16, 2016
Lynne Keith
added it
