Dear Sweet Pea | 
pickCute middle reader of a 13 yo by an author I really admire. Sweet Pea is a 7th grader dealing with her parents‘ unexpected divorce because her father is gay and their extreme attempts to keep things as normal as possible by living in identical houses on the same street. I think it‘s a good solid read for middle readers about change, friendship, and moving forward.
pickAs with every book I‘ve read by Julie Murphy I really enjoyed reading this. Though I can‘t really see how it qualifies as part of the Dumplin‘ series, I liked the plot & of course enjoyed Cheese the cat. I‘d never read a book with a plot along these lines. Not the divorced parent story but with the advice column author. I guess with newspapers quickly becoming obsolete, I‘ve never thought about the actual writers for said newspaper. As always, 5⭐️
pickThis is a young, young adult book. I don‘t even know what you call these - the protagonist is 13 yr old Sweet Pea, a 7th grade girl with newly divorced parents living 2 houses from each other.
It‘s a good read and one I would have definitely enjoyed as a young, young adult (pre-YA?).
pickI love Julie Murphy‘s books and this one didn‘t disappoint. Sweet Pea is learning how to deal with her parents divorcing and finding out her dad is gay. Her parents are working very hard at trying to make her life as normal as possible with her dad moving into a house on the same street. When a neighbor asked Sweet Pea to check on her mail and get the letters from her advice column Sweet Pea finds herself reading the letters and answering 👇🏻
pickThis book was pretty cute, and fits in quite a few themes for its length. I definitely related to Sweet Pea trying to navigate her feelings on her parents divorcing and everything that entails.
My only minor niggle is that Sweet Pea did some pretty selfish things in order to try and get her family back together but it is probably something a 13 year old would do and she definitely ended up learning from it all by the end of the book.
pickI love Julie Murphy, and this was no exception! I loved having a MG with a fat main character, even if at times she was a little too 'out there' just for the sake of being different. I really liked the way her parents' divorce was handled, as well as the diversity issues. Should be a positive read for kids, and was a fun read for this adult, too
pickAn adorable middle grade book about family, friendships, owning mistakes, and growing up.
1. Book - Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy and Audiobook - The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
2. Biking & gardening
3. Where the Red Fern Grows and The Tattooist of Auschwitz (both for book club)
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain
pickI read this in one setting last night. An adorable middle grade novel.
pickAn adorable middle grade full of Julie Murphy's typical charm, body positivity, & friendship. Soon-to-be-eighth-grader Patricia "Sweet Pea" DiMartino navigates her parents unnervingly amicable divorce amidst friendship struggles, embarrassing middle school moments (barfing on your classmates at a trampoline party? yikes), & mailing the questions for her neighbor's advice column--& maybe trying her own hand at answering a few.
4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
1. Dear Sweet Pea, Otaku, The Bone Witch, and Mostly Dead Things
2. Both!
3. Time and Oranges by the incomparable @Mollyegutman (https://www.triquarterly.org/issues/issue-157/time-and-oranges)
#weekendreads
I. Paper and kindle
II. Library, Amazon First Reads, gifts, used
III. No
IV. See⬆️
V. Borrowed the tagged book last week and have read
#thursdaysurvey
@laurenslibrary
Sometimes it‘s easy to forget that quiet moments mean just as much as the loud ones, because it‘s not always about moving. Sometimes it‘s about sitting perfectly and quietly still.
A little reading to cap off an excellent day that included two meals at one of my favorite restaurants (vegetarian dumplings and bubble tea!) and one of my favorite musicals (Wicked)
pickThis is a cute middle grade book about a girl dealing with divorcing parents and identical homes. She has a cat named Cheese and I thought this was a perfect pick for #bookswpets #newyearnewyou
so-soI'm even further removed from the target audience for this one than I am from Dumplin', so keep that in mind. I was darn frustrated through most of the book. It all came together in the end—is that good enough? I dunno.
so-soI really enjoyed Julie Murphy‘s YA books.. but this one was “middle grade” and it really didn‘t do it for me. It‘s definitely older middle grade, I wouldn‘t want my third grader reading it. The MC does some really crappy things to her friends and spends the second half of the book redeeming herself but I didn‘t get over it, lol. . Plus, it uses the trope of taking over a newspaper advice column, which I‘m all done with.
Why have milk and cookies when you can have wine and cookies? 😂 My #litsypartyofone snack. 🍷🍪#bookandbeverage #gratefulreads I‘m not officially keeping track of my reading time for #24B4Monday, but ❤️ seeing what you‘re all reading and very happy to celebrate #MrBook1inaMillion 🎉🎉🎉😊
Alisnazzy, MrBook, Lynnsoprano, Clwojick, OriginalCyn620, Andrew65, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks, Rachel.Rencher, Lucas.Rencher, jb72, BeansPage
I left my other book at work somehow! So I‘m going to try to plow through this MG story by Julie Murphy
pickI somehow did not realize until I started reading that this was the same Julie Murphy that wrote Dumplin‘ and Puddin‘. I loved both of those books so it is no surprise that I enjoyed this one as well. While it is a middle grade book, I didn‘t feel like I was reading a book geared for younger readers.
pickJulie Murphy's books are so heart-warming but also don't shy away from complexities and grey areas. This is a great debut into the middle grade market about a 13-year-old who has a lot of stuff going on in her life: parents' divorce, parent coming out, an ex-BFF, and an eccentric elderly neighbour who asks Sweet Pea to look after her mail for her advice column while she's gone. Sweet Pea gets herself into a wee bit of trouble. I loved this!
Library book haul!!
1. Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Steve Pugh & Mariko Tamaki [[graphic novel]]🧨
2. Mooncakes by Wendy Xu & Suzanne Walker 🧙🏻♀️
3. Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy📖
4. Scars Like Wings by Erin Stewart 🔥
#library #mooncakes #harleyquinn #scarslikewings
pickI jumped at the chance to order this after reading Dumplin! I loved this story because it includes topics young adults should be exposed to. Sweet Pea is dealing with her parents divorce after her father comes out as gay. When she is tasked with helping her neighbor (the advices columnist), she discovers some facts about her ex-best friend. Sweet Pea also struggles with body issues, but it isn‘t the forefront of the novel, which I liked. A pick!
pickMiddle Grade Novel | Author of Dumplin', Puddin', Tamona in Blue | Publishes today, October 1, 2019
"Let's recap. My parents are divorced. My dad is gay, and my mim has a new boyfriend. She's not calling him her boyfriend yet, but he's totally her boyfriend. I'm pretending to be the town advice columnist while the regular lady is MIA. My best friend is ticked off at me, and I've somehow mangaged to become friends with my once-sworn enemy."
It's hard to believe that it is the last Friday in September already. That must mean it's time for #CoverLove. This month we look at MG titles that are out soon. And maybe a few PBs as well.
First up is the first MG book from Dumplin' author Julie Murphy. Not realy a fan of the cover, but it does seem like a younger version of her adult covers.
Out Oct 1
#CoverLove
#MGedition
ARC due out 10/1/19 from Harper Collins
Review to come when finished.
#currentlyreading #preview #octrso2019 #middlefiction Julie Murphy of ‘Dumplin‘‘ fame has moved into the ‘tween spaces (it‘s what all the kids are doin), and I have heard it‘s heart-warming and fun. Yay for a fun book.
4⭐️ Aawww I love this middle grade novel. Sweet Pea is a cool kid. She‘s smart, confident, and comfortable in her plus size. She has other more important issues than body issues! Self love and acceptance is key; otherwise who‘s gonna love you? 🥰
Second book completed for #24in48 #24in48readathon I‘m nowhere near 24 hr but I‘ve been enjoying this readathon weekend
pickMy parents also divorced when I was young when my dad came out as gay. Similar to Sweet Pea‘s parents, they remained close allies and friends instead of hating each other—I‘ve never seen my family represented in a book before and I wish this had existed when I was in middle school ❤️
When one of your favorite YA authors cites something local to you, you become best friends right? 🤗
