I could not get into this book, ultimately it was not form me and I could not finish it. It may be one for other readers

The tale of the two girls’ developing friendship was beautifully told through their emails and the letters sent to loved ones,

An unexpected ending, but the journey there was worth every second.

A review on behalf of my 11-year-old daughter...

"I loved this book so much. It's one of the best things I have read in a long time and I have recommended it to all my friends."

Firstly, I loved the quirky title and book cover. Based on 2 girls at summer camp- sent by their respective fathers who are in a new relationship- the girls are complete opposites and initially struggle to see eye to eye but find friendship eventually. A brilliant tale of family, friendship and summer camp.

This beautiful reverse Parent Trap style novel was just perfect. I loved the two girls and their voices so much. Their emails back and forth to each other while they tried to split up their dads made me smile and laugh. They both had such distinct voices and the way they kept saying that they would never meet each other and they were obviously going to be complete strangers at the same time as asking each other random get to know you questions and becoming best friends was completely wonderful. It felt really real and genuine, the way that young girls really interact.



It was great to see a gay relationship between the parents of the girls. Both had single dads, Avery's dad having never married and Bett's having been married but had his partner die. It was a great way to show the different types of relationships that gay parents can be in. It was nice to see the representation go beyond two gay people in a committed relationship having a child.



I adored the email format of this book as well. I don't know what it is about a book told through letters or emails or even diary entries, but I just find them so fun to read. They're a bit of a change from the regular style of story, I suppose. I'm not sure I'll ever get bored of all the interesting and different ways that people find to tell a story.



Perfect for anyone who loves plucky young girls trying to change their parents dating lives.

Wonderfully charming tale of friendship & families. Letter writing format requires some suspension of disbelief & overall it lacks mass appeal but the right reader will delight in the quirky characters & find the story both witty & heart-warming. Extremely enjoyable.

A contemporary Parent Trap conducted by email, heart-warming friendship of a mismatched pair of girls and their dads.

Completely adorable. Like Salmon Fishing on the Yemen, the entirety is composed of emails/letters from character to character, most between the central pair but with a few from other parties adding to the story. And it does seem to take its inspiration from Erich Kastner's book of two girls trying to control the relationship between their parents.

Avery is a New York germophobe, frightened of drowning, very insular, and does not take kindly to the email that comes from a girl in California - Bett, a tough animal lover - who says that Avery's dad and her own are in love and wanting their daughters to get to know each other at summer camp before they become one big happy family...

The story charts the girls' relationship, from strangers to those united in the idea of separating their dads, and then continues as the plot thickens, camp beckons and the girls finally meet (though the emails continue, cleverly, despite this).

I just loved both girls. I think having two authors (one per girl?) gave each a very marked and fleshed-out persona for each, you can instantly tell who is talking in their emails.

The story is adorable too, as an adult I knew just what I was going to be getting really. I would have fallen into this story completely if I was 11. There's a girl here for any reader, a camp story, more than one love story, grandparents and theatre and broken/blended families.

And the email device, a lesser-used structure that allows for secret thoughts and instant responses, communication from around the world, different perspectives on the same events, I really enjoyed reading a book written in this method. It's relevant and just how this age group will communicate (and gives a very good example of literature young people too).

It was lovely watch Avery and Bett develop as individuals but also friends through the story, as well as the story of their dads, and other related characters.

This will go down a storm with 9-13 year olds, girls in particular I expect. A hard one to stop reading ("just one more email...").

With thanks to Netgalley for the sample reading copy.

A light-hearted, uplifting read about family and friendship. At the beginning of the story Bett and Avery are determined never to meet, or become sisters, as their dating dads hope. We get to follow along as their relationship, and the relationships of many people around them, develop and change. The power of this story comes from the connections that form between the characters.

It's an epistolary novel, primarily comprised of emails. Although the excessive email subjects full of 're: re: re: re:' dated the book a bit and made it a bit messy, overall I liked the format. It allows the reader to see the different perspectives, and highlights the different relationships and styles of communication between the characters.

Recommended to all. To Night Owl from Dogfish is an example of fantastic, diverse middle grade that's a joy to read even for older readers.

To Night Owl From Dogfish is a super funny Middle Grade novel which I enjoyed hugely. The story consists of emails two girls are sending to each other which tells the story of first love across the American continent, then a friendship and ultimately changed lives and a more diverse family. The text is hugely entertaining, full of tempo and craziness. I loved the depiction of the girls and their gay fathers, the normality of it and hope for many more books like this!

Told entirely in emails, 'To Night Owl from Dogfish' centers around two teenage girls - the outdoors-y fearless surfer girl Bett and the more introverted, anxious bookworm Avery - who are brought together when their Dads start dating.
The entire arc of their relationship is covered in this book - from their initial contacts when they discover they are being forced into a friendship by being sent to camp together, vowing to not be friends ever as neither of them wants their respective Dad to be in a relationship, to the inevitable thawing of their frosty connection, to a series of unusual events that they subsequently blunder through, this is a fun read from start to finish.
There are significant similarities with the Parent Trap, but also enough differentiation for this to be worth spending some time with. It's a quick read and one that'll have you crossing all your extremities for a happy ending as it hurtles towards its denouement.

A cute modern day Parent Trap with two fiery daughters trying to break up then patch up their gay dads relationship.
I loved how the whole story was written via emails and letters, and though I kinda guessed the ending, it was great to read!
Many thanks to NetGalley and @EMTeenFiction for the arc copy in return for an honest review

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer is told entirely in emails and letters. Like their parents, Bett and Avery could not be anymore opposite but what follows is a sweet, engaging novel about friendship and family.

I've not read any novels by these authors before but they certainly capture the essence of tween life within the book. Although told primarily from the girl's POV, there are many supporting adult characters such as their gay dads and Gaga. All characters were well written and demonstrates the great ability of the authors.

Overall, a great read for children & adults alike...one to watch out for in 2019!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novel!

Title: To Night Owl From Dogfish
Author: Holly Goldberg-Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
Genre: Middle Grade contemporary
Release date: 21st February 2019
My Rating: 3.5 stars
Trigger/content warnings: Death of a family member (in the past), some brief mentions of homophobia.


While reading this, I fully expected it to be a 5 star read for me, and then the last 30% happened and I was completely lost. But first up I am going to talk about the really great things about this book.

Number one (and the selling point for me) was the diversity. This is marketed as a "reverse parent-trap" but with two gay dads, after reading that I hit request straight away. Also, our main characters, Bett and Avery. Avery and her dad are Jewish and Bett and her dad are African-American.

Another thing I loved was how the authors made Bett and Averys' voices so distinctive. They are like chalk and cheese and it was so easy to tell them apart. Avery is more bookish, she is quiet and a worrier, she has fears and gets anxious, which she calls "excessive fears". Whereas Bett is more adventurous, outgoing and loud. The bond these two characters form is truly amazing and so heartwarming.

I loved the discussions the two of them had together, how open they were with each other. I was laughing throughout most of this book.

This novel is told entirely through emails, letters, text messages etc, which normally I am not a fan of, but I thought the authors done a terrific job with this and I don't think it could have worked any other way.


(POSSIBLE SPOILER)
However, towards the end is where everything went a little downhill for me personally. I was fully expecting this to end happily, just like The Parent Trap. But around the 70% mark things just started getting a bit, I feel like I can only describe it as messy. Time started skipping more frequently, Marlow and Sam (the dads) were in new relationships with new people, they lived miles apart from each other and at that point, I just knew this wasn't going to end the way I thought it would. To be honest, I don't think I even understood the ending, it came out of nowhere and it was really abrupt and just left me hanging. It's no secret that I am a sucker for a happy ending, so maybe that's just me.

Another thing that confused me was that, towards the end, the authors started incorporating new perspectives of people who had no bearing to the story.

Overall, this is a great MG novel with some absolutely fantastic diverse elements, but in the end, it just wasn't for me personally.

Review to be uploaded on my blog soon, which I will link once posted.

I was sold on the "reverse Parent-Trap" premise from the first, it seemed like a cute and clever idea. Not to mention the concept of telling the story entirely through emails was fantastic. Sadly, the execution was a little lacking. The story felt like it jumped around a lot with no real conclusive ending. Plus the blurb's main selling point, the "reverse Parent Trap", was only a minimal part of the story. Most of the book focuses on the girls coming to care about each other as sisters and the different shenanigans they got up to over summer camp. The book's ending, while I think it's appropriate for the story, also felt like a letdown as it raised hopes then dashed them. Still, a fun enough read.