Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I came across Marion Roberts’ Sunny Side Up while looking for another novel by the same name (which happens more often than I should probably admit!).  I was immediately entertained by Sunny’s voice–she’s the 11-year-old narrator–but it took me a bit to decide that I also liked her.  She’s not perfect, and her view of life reminds me that my 9-year-old is going to be growing up a lot in the next two years, but despite the whirlwind of change she’s facing, Sunny keeps finding her way to the right decisions…sooner or later.  And she is facing quite the barrage of changes, by the way.  Her mother is looking to blend the two of them with her boyfriend’s family, which means Sunny will only be a part-time only child; her stepmom is very pregnant; her best friend is starting to be interested in boys in general (and one of Sunny’s least favorite boys in particular); and her long lost grandmother is trying to meet her.  I’m thinking it’s a tad old for my oldest–I’d look at 10 or 11 and up–but I’m glad I read it.  I did have to decipher some of the Australian references (if your child isn’t excellent at context cues, you might have to answer a question or two there), but even so, Sunny’s narrative style is compulsively readable.

I enjoyed this one.