I was hooked from the moment I started reading. The characters are genuine and likeable as they learn and teach a variety of life lessons throughout this engaging and realistic story. about love, loss, relationships and facing uncertainty and change

this book felt real -- like I was living it myself. Fantastic writing about the angst of growing up.

Contemporary Fiction
11-15
Have a tween/early teen daughter? Run out and get her this book now. omg I loved it! Sofia is deeply mourning her mother’s sudden death less than a year ago. She misses her mother so much, and her presence is everywhere, from the school Sofia attends where her mother was a teacher to the New York City apartment where Sofia lives with her gynecologist Dad. They’ll have to move out soon, though, as the apartment is for faculty members only, and well, she’s gone. At 14, Sofia has a lot of questions about life, love, sex, friends, clothes and more. Even though Dad is a gynecologist, Sofia can’t talk to him about such things. When Fifteen magazine’s advice columnist Dear Kate comes to Sofia’s school, she feels a connection and begins to email her about everything from first kisses to a pimple she finds “down there.” As she learns her father is seeing someone, Sofia struggles with feelings of betrayal, and reaches out to Kate. Neither of them realizes that Kate is actually Dad’s new love. That’s probably enough right there for a short novel, but there is so much more to come! Weston, who has also written Girltalk: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You and several other books, both fiction and nonfiction, draws on her own experience as an advice columnist for Girls’ Life, and in an afterword admits she spent years writing this novel. The book clearly benefited from the extra time. The characters are all well drawn, realistic and enjoyable. Sofia’s voice is strong and authentic, and the adults are given a stronger role to play than in most YA novels. Kate’s daughter Alexa is delightfully snippy, and Sofia’s best friend Kikki is loyal and reliable, but not immune to making her own mistakes. In addition to featuring Alexa’s father in a gay relationship, there’s a lovely moment in which Sofia nonchalantly realizes a friend is gay when her dance date is another girl. Sofia’s Spanish heritage is well handled, including several appearances by her Abuelito (grandpa) giving Sofia a realistic role as translator between her grandfather and father. My top choice for the books I’ve read so far this year; it will be a contender for some major awards. Highly recommended. My thanks to publisher Sourcebooks Jabberwocky for the advance reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More reviews and discussion of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27969093

Thank you NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book which is intended for tweens and teens follows Sofia through the heart wrenching time following the death of her mother. As Sofia says, “Was thirteen the worst possible age to lose your mother? Maybe. Then again, there was no good age.”

Sofia is now fourteen and left with so many questions yet seemingly no one to ask. She struggles to connect with her father and doesn’t know how to get things back to normal with her friends. In fact, she struggles to find a new normal. She ends up writing to “Dear Kate” the advice columnist for a teen magazine after she speaks at Sofia’s school assembly. The two seem to form a connection and they continue their correspondence. However, what happens when “Dear Kate” becomes Katie, her dad’s new girlfriend? Will all her secrets come out? Will she lose her only confidant? Will she be able to cope with a new woman in her dad’s life? To make matters worse, Kate’s daughter, Alexa, is not a fan of this new relationship. How will this affect Sofia?

While this book focuses a great deal on her tragic loss and the transformation of her family, it also deals with typical teen girl problems. There are friends who seem to lose track of friendships as they increase their attention on boys, unwanted acne, the struggle to fit in while remaining true to yourself and so many other problems many girls can identify with. It also brushes on the topics of sex and unplanned pregnancy.

This book was well written, and I truly felt for Sofia and the struggles she was facing. I cried more than once. I think young girls will be able to identify with the characters as it took me back to my teen years and all the changes they brought. It is a very realistic look at the transformation of friendships, early romantic relationships, and all the pressure and choices that come with it. I liked that Kate often talked about slowing down and stepping not falling into relationships while still acknowledging the feelings teens begin to experience. I think this is often a challenging area that teens believe adults are reluctant to remember and identify with.

Blending two families together in any situation can be very difficult and yet is very common today. I think many will be able to identify with this struggle as it is realistically addressed. While everything doesn’t magically work out, I found myself rooting for these characters to pull through. Because the characters were well rounded and authentic, I was able to see beyond their bad choices at times to the hurt and/or fear that was just below the surface.

As an adult, it caused me to pause and think about parenting choices and how they truly impact our children. I have to say, I felt myself growing quite judgy toward the parents in this book, but I think it is a good reminder that parents make mistakes and no one has all the answers. That said, I did question some of the choices the Gregg and Kate made throughout this book. For example, I certainly don’t believe parents have to be alone forever, particularly after their spouse has died, but was it really that impossible for Gregg to communicate with Sofia about starting a new relationship? Of course it was going to be hard on her. She lost her mom less than a year ago. She made it clear that she didn’t want to hear the details of his relationship, but he seemed incapable of even talking to her about how she felt about him beginning a relationship in the first place. Sure, he didn’t need her permission, but he could’ve opened the lines of communication on how it would make her feel before diving in and wanting her to be happy for him. He seemed so anxious to share his “good news” and introduce them that he forgot the heartache that had recently been shared between the two of them. Kate also seemed very naive at times and chose not to deal with issues in lieu of hoping they turned out the way she wanted. She seemed a bit too focused on her own happy ending at times to be realistic and truly communicate with her daughter. This, however, just goes to show that adults are also humans who don’t always have everything figured out.

I also thought the author may have tried to pack a few too many issues into one book. Tackling the death of a parent, safe sex, divorce, gay relationships, unplanned pregnancy, and abortion all in one book seems a bit much. However, because the focus remained on Sofia and she didn’t directly experience all of these it didn’t detract from the story.

Overall, I thought this was a thought provoking book that tween and teen girls could identify with. While it had incredibly sad parts, there was also a triumph in surviving these hardships. The inclusion of normal teen problems made this something everyone can identify with. As an adult, it took me back to those years while allowing me insight into the parents. Definitely worth reading.

Grief. Acceptance. Transition. The story follows one year of Sofia's life, starting a year and a half after the sudden death of her mom. Sofia is trying to come to terms with her grief while also going through the normal issues of a young teenager.

The story is well told and would be good younger teens, really girls. There is a fair amount of focus on young teens having sex and drinking, so keep that is mind. A good book to read and discuss together.

Fourteen-year-old Sofia Wolfe is still reeling from the sudden death of her beloved mother almost a year ago when her best friend takes her to a talk by an advice columnist called “Dear Kate”. Despite her initial misgivings, a grieving Sofia writes to Kate to fill the absence of a mother figure. Kate is pretty cool for an agony aunt and understands that not all families have two parents. This encourages Sofia to send her father to another Dear Kate talk. Soon, Sofia is regularly corresponding with Kate about grief, puberty, boys and growing pains.

A year after Sofia’s mother’s death, she realizes her father has started seeing someone. On the one hand, she dearly loves her father and wants to see him happy. On the other hand, she feels it’s too soon and Sofia doesn’t want her mother to be replaced. Imagine her surprise when Dad’s new girlfriend turns out to be none other than “Dear Kate”.

Embarrassed beyond belief, Sofia doesn’t know how to tell Kate that she has been corresponding with her for months beforehand. To compound the problem, Kate has a teenage daughter, Alexa, who is not pleased with the sudden onslaught of strangers in her mother’s life, especially seemingly perfect Sofia. Sofia and her father need to vacate the apartment, which leads them to move in with Kate and Alexa. And, at her new school, Sofia falls for a boy who has a complicated history with Alexa. How ever will she survive this year?

Even though the story is geared at children and young adults, Ms Weston has done a marvelous job of describing Sofia’s grief. Devastated by her loss, it is heartbreaking to see Sofia not understand the normal mother-teenage daughter tension between Kate and Alexa. Narrated over the course of a year, it’s heartening to see Sofia stop grieving and accept that the presence of another woman in her father’s life and her family does not mean that her mother won’t always be with her in spirit. Living with “Dear Kate” also makes her see the flawed woman behind the advice columnist persona.

While the story centers around Sofia, Ms. Weston pays a generous amount of attention to the secondary characters. The arc that Sofia’s relationship takes with Alexa was one of my favourites. The narration from Sofia’s point of view lends the story a poignant and simple tone. It is lovely to see her blossom into a happy young woman with a new “family”. Kudos to Ms. Weston for turning the Cinderella trope on its head and writing a heartwarming and touching story about grief, moving on and growing up.

Speed of Life follows a tumultuous year in the life of fourteen-year-old Sofia. Her mom has died suddenly and she is struggling to deal with her grief. Then her father (after a respectable period of time) begins dating someone new. Written with Sofia as the narrator, the book gives a realistic and compelling view into the life of a teen who is going through one of the more difficult experiences that a teen can have. The book touches on a long list of issues-death, change, love, friendships, moving, and choices about sex and sexuality to name a few in overwhelmingly painstaking detail. It reaches a climax about halfway through when Sofia accepts the idea that her father has a new relationship at a point where there was still 53% left to go. An ambitious novel, strong characters, but perhaps attempts to cover too much ground in one go.

Sofia's mother passed away suddenly, and now that eight months have passed, all of her friends think that she should be over her loss, but she's not. Her mother taught at the private school she attends, and she and her father are going to have to leave their apartment, which is owned by the school. Her friend Kiki's divorced mother seems to be putting the moves on her father, and everything is just too much to handle. Sofia writes to the advice columnist Dear Kate with some of her problems and is surprised when she gets an answer back! She writes to Kate when things get really bad, but when it turns out that her father met the columnist at Sofia's school and is dating her, things are a bit awkward. Sofia doesn't think her father should be dating, but Kate is as nice as her daughter Alexa is difficult. When Sofia and her father start traveling out to the suburbs to visit Kate, Sofia meets Sam, who is cute and nice. Things are a little complicated, but when the school apartment has to be vacated, Kate invites the two to live with her. Things don't always go smoothly, but Sofia realizes that life goes on at a rapid pace, even when we aren't quite ready to keep up.

The author of this book has written for Girl's Life since 1994, so thoroughly understands the teen mind. This book does have a lot of very frank talk about "health class topics", although nothing is sensationalized. This is not the sort of thing that I enjoy reading, but is definitely informative to young readers who may have embarrassing questions about these very topics and lack adults in whom they can confide.

The issue of parents dating and blended families comes up in real life far more often than parents dying, so it was good to see how Alexa and Sofia got along and eventually made some sort of peace with each other. Tweens often move to new schools, so Sofia's transition from a small private school to a suburban public one will intrigue readers.

This book read very much like Phyllis Reynold Naylor's Alice books, which started over thirty years ago, or Judy Blume's Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, which is over forty years old, so it is high time there were new novels that address teen issues with helpful, unflinching advice. Keep in mind that younger readers definitely might have questions after reading this book and will hopefully seek out supportive adults to answer them.

I can't imagine losing my mom when I was only 14. Imagine just being ready for high school and dating and all those teenage things, and having no mother to help you through them. Sofia is dealing with that. She and her father are trying to keep going, keep climbing. As Sofia explains in the introduction, "sometimes, if you just keep climbing, you get an amazing view. You see what's behind you and what's in front of you and - the big surprise - what's inside you." Of course, at the beginning of the book, she doesn't see any of that. Most days she is trying to recapture her old self, the one not weighed down with sadness. And after several months, her father begins dating someone. Sofia turns to Dear Kate, the advice columnist from Fifteen magazine for advice. Imagine her horror when she meets her dad's new girlfriend - Dear Kate, herself!

There are parts that made me cry and then parts that made me laugh out loud. All the ups and downs of moving to a new town, new house, and new school are there. The drama of your father starting to date, and being serious about his new companion. The awkwardness of getting to know that new woman, and her daughter. The thrill of meeting a boy you like and who likes you back. The sadness of having to tell your grandfather that your mom has died. There are so many life events packed into this one book and Sofia will win you over as she makes her way through each one.

Definitely for middle school and up. Mentions of sex, contraception, STDs, and other topics are a bit mature for readers younger than that. The topics are handled with a care you would expect from someone who can create a character like Dear Kate and make her believable. Perfect for fans of stories like Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and Paula Danziger's The Cat Ate My Gym Shorts who are now reading YA.

This is an ok YA novel. It has young love. It has anxiety. It has new schools, and new peers. It has, in short all those things you expect in a YA novel, and that is the problem. Everything, everything was telegraphed from the start. There was no suspense. There was nothing that happened that I was suprrised about. Dad's girlfriend, that was given away, sure, in the description on the back cover, but even if you didn't read that, you could guess. And the boyfriend? We could see who he used to date a mile away.

I kept hoping, hoping, that I would be surprised. That Alexa, the daughter of the new girlfriend, would turn out to be more than she was, but alas, she was not.

There is nothing wrong with young love, and nothing is wrong with no suspense, but it makes for a dull book for me.

And, I'm sure all those others who rated it five stars loved it. But I did not. So, it gets three stars for writing very well about what you know (the author is an advice columnist just like her protagonist.).

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Reading Sofia's story brought me instantly back to my days of pouring over YM and Seventeen magazines in the early 90s ~ all of the angst and uncertainty combined with absolute hope that growing up would make life easier, and that magazines and advice columns could decode the entire process. This book is about grief, to be sure, but it's at the same time an incredibly happy book, as Sofia manages to miss and remember her mom so poignantly while finally experiencing a whole new life. I loved the authenticity the author's educational background in Spanish brought to the story, and Sofia's connection to her and her mother's shared Spanish heritage gave the story additional depth. Growing up, death, divorce and moving on are all difficult topics, but Weston manages to write them in a way that leaves readers smiling and hopeful.

Interesting premise, engaging and believable characters, a whole lot of heart. All in all a pretty solid Tween novel.

Pleasantly surprised! That's exactly what I was upon finishing this. But first for the negative- which really isn't all that bad! So I read this ARC on the Kindle app on my iphone. And I THINK this may have cause some formatting issues which in turn made it a little tough to read. There weren't really chapters, or section breaks... paragraphs just kept running into each other without indication of a change in time period or subject matter. So that was a little challenge when reading, but I understood that of course this is an ARC and so it has not gone through it's final revision before publication. That's really the only negative I had.

It was a cute story and I actually found myself choking up a few times the was Sofia talked about her mom. I was able to relate to so many things she was thinking and feeling since I too have lost a parent. I can't say this book had a profound impact on me, but it was a light, quick young adult read that I would recommend to those who enjoy YA novels.

A sweet book about a teenager grieving and learning to be happy again. Kind of light and fluffy, but nice and harmless.

This is a beautiful story about surviving the loss of someone you love very much and figuring out how to move on. 14 is an awful time to lose your mother. Sofia knows this well. Not only does she miss her like crazy, but she no longer has a woman in her life to answer those oh-so embarrassing questions about periods and boys and sex. It's a good thing that Dear Kate exists, the advice column in Fifteen magazine that teenage girls can turn to with their most awkward questions. But what if the woman you turn to for advice on how to deal with the loss of your mother and the fact that your father is dating again...starts dating your father? Throw in a 16 year old girl who really doesn't want a new sister and you've got a recipe for disaster.

I thought this book was really well-written and had a great story. I lost my mother recently and I know how tough it can be. There's a part in this book that says something along the lines of "You've already lost your mother. You can't lose her twice. You've already been through the worst that can happen to you and survived." It rang very, very true for me. Losing my mother was about the worst thing imaginable and knowing that I could survive it made me stronger. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in the middle school or high school age range.

I really enjoyed the advice columnist aspect of this story, but the characters were very juvenile.