From two extraordinary authors comes a moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters.Avery Bloom, who's bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who's fearless, outgoing, and loves all animals as well as the ocean, lives in California. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and are both being raised by single, gay dads.
When their dads fall in love, Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same sleepaway camp. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends--and possibly, one day, even sisters.
But things soon go off the rails for the girls (and for their dads too), and they find themselves on a summer adventure that neither of them could have predicted. Now that they can't imagine life without each other, will Bett and Avery (who sometimes call themselves Night Owl and Dogfish) figure out a way to be a family?
On sale: April 28, 2020
Age: 10 and up
Grade: Grade 5 & Up
Page count: 304 Pages
ISBN: 9780525553243
Reading level: Lexile: 770L
Holly Goldberg Sloan was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and spent her childhood living in Holland; Istanbul, Turkey; Washington, DC; Berkeley, California; and Eugene, Oregon. After graduating from Wellesley College and spending some time as an advertising copywriter, she began writing family feature films, including
Angels in the Outfield and
Made in America. She is the author of the
New York Times bestsellers
Counting by 7s and
Short, among other novels.
Meg Wolitzer was born in Brooklyn, New York, grew up in the town of Syosset, on Long Island, and sold her first novel,
Sleepwalking, while a senior in college. She is the
New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels for adults, including
The Interestings,
The Ten-Year Nap,
The Wife, and
The Female Persuasion; the young adult novel
Belzhar; and the middle-grade novel
The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman.
Acclaim for To Night Owl from DogfishA
New York Time Editor's Choice
A
Junior Library Guild 2019 Selection
An Amazon best book of the month for February 2019
#3 on the Indie Next list for spring 2019 for Independent Booksellers
A
Publishers Weekly Most Anticipated Children's Book of 2019
"Built on a foundation of absurdity, coincidence and the occasional rather good one-liner, the novel manages the difficult balancing act of using increasingly ridiculous, and often funny, situations to drill home the idea that every close relationship takes hard work, particularly when things start going south." —
New York Times* "This is a convincing and heartwarming look into the experiences of female friendship . . . An imaginative and compelling middle-grade novel depicting modern friendships and modern families." —
School Library Journal, starred review
“A sweet and amusing tale that celebrates diversity while reinforcing the power of love and the importance of family.” —
Kirkus
“Written entirely in emails and letters, this laugh-out-loud novel showcases the collaborative skills of bestselling authors Sloan (
Short) and Wolitzer (
Bellzhar) . . . Featuring a dramatic climax and a host of surprising twists, the novel affirms that families conventional and unconventional are families just the same.” —
Publishers Weekly
“Even if the target readership eschews email these days, they’ll be hard-pressed not to be laughing out loud at the witty, clever email and letter repartee among the girls, their dads, and the rest of the supporting cast . . . Alternately heartwarming and hilarious.” —
Booklist“The book’s affectionately satirical take on our twelve-year-old heroines and their approaches to life is funny, and the epistolary format is an engaging way into the girls’ personalities and defenses.” —
BCCB“While Bett and Avery’s non-stop comical high jinks prove entertaining, the girls symbolize a broader definition of family and experience real struggles . . . Educators and librarians seeking an interesting novel that promotes diversity and might appeal to reluctant readers will want to add this book to their shelves.” —
VOYA
