Dear Sweet Pea

by Julie Murphy

Overview

The first middle grade novel from Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’ (now a popular Netflix film), is a funny, heartwarming story perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead, Ali Benjamin, and Holly Goldberg Sloan. Four starred reviews!

Patricia “Sweet Pea” DiMarco wasn’t sure what to expect when her parents announced they were getting a divorce. She never could have imagined that they would have the “brilliant” idea of living in nearly identical houses on the same street. In the one house between them lives their eccentric neighbor Miss Flora Mae, the famed local advice columnist behind “Miss Flora Mae I?”

Dividing her time between two homes is not easy. And it doesn’t help that at school, Sweet Pea is now sitting right next to her ex–best friend, Kiera, a daily reminder of the friendship that once was. Things might be unbearable if Sweet Pea didn’t have Oscar—her new best friend—and her fifteen-pound cat, Cheese.

Then one day Flora leaves for a trip and asks Sweet Pea to forward her the letters for the column. And Sweet Pea happens to recognize the handwriting on one of the envelopes.

What she decides to do with that letter sets off a chain of events that will forever change the lives of Sweet Pea DiMarco, her family, and many of the readers of “Miss Flora Mae I?”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062473080
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/02/2021
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	188,274
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Julie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cats who tolerate her. After several wonderful years in the library world, Julie now writes full-time. When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure. She is also the author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. You can visit Julie at www.juliemurphywrites.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for PUDDIN’: “Julie Murphy has created the platonic love story of a lifetime. I am wildly in love with Puddin’.

Becky Albertalli

Dear Sweet Pea is a truly irresistible story about a family in flux, brimming with humor and heart.

Rebecca Stead

Successfully handles tough topics with humor.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

…Sweet Pea's ordinariness is part of her appeal. She's funny, honest and lovably resilient. As with Oscar—with whom she has an adorable rapport—young readers will find her good company, full of sensible advice for weathering the day-to-day trials of middle school.

The New York Times Book Review - Natalie Standiford

★ 08/05/2019

Seventh grader Patricia “Sweet Pea” DiMarco contends with her parents’ divorce, shifting friendships, and newfound self-awareness in this praiseworthy middle grade debut from YA author Murphy (Dumplin’). Along with Cheese, her “fifteen-pound orange tabby,” Sweet Pea shuttles between her family’s original house in Valentine, Tex., where her mother still lives, and the nearly identical home two doors down, where her father now resides, unsettled and frustrated by her parents’ split and her dad’s recent coming out. Recruited by her neighbor, eccentric local advice columnist Miss Flora Mae, to manage her mail while she’s out of town, Sweet Pea recognizes the handwriting on one letter and can’t stop herself from opening—and responding to—some of the others, throwing her friendships into disarray as she navigates the line between right and wrong. As with her books for older readers, Murphy creates a richly imagined protagonist who shines in her strength, humor, and self-confidence; Sweet Pea is also plus-size by today’s standards and is accepting and unashamed of her body. With gentle humor, ageless wisdom, and charming, genuine characters who represent a diversity of experiences, Murphy’s novel offers all the emotional highs and lows of pitch-perfect middle grade. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Full of cringe-worthy but funny seventh grade moments… [there’s also] plenty of room for more serious reflection about the people around her in her small Texas town, a cast diverse in ethnicity, sexual orientation, and body size as well as in attitudes.

Horn Book Magazine

Murphy creates a wonderfully realistic portrait of tween life in her first middle-grade novel…. Sweet Pea is a treasure of a protagonist.”  

ALA Booklist (starred review)

Praise for DUMPLIN’: “Will’s singular voice compels readers to think about all that goes into building-and destroying-self-esteem...Splendid

Booklist (starred review)

Successfully handles tough topics with humor.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Praise for SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY: “It’s equal parts fun, cringe-worthy, and totally fearless!

Seventeen

Praise for SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY: “A tale of unlikely romance, impossible obstacles, and mortality, this book is a must-read.

Teen Vogue

Praise for SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY: “A funny and touching novel about a strong-willed heroine who finds facing death simple, but facing life heart-wrenchingly complicated. A real original.

Jennifer Echols

Praise for SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY: “Julie Murphy’s Side Effects May Vary is a funny, heartfelt, honest look at the beauty and the risk of getting a second chance. An inspiring novel about all the things worth living for. I adored this debut!

Siobhan Vivian

Praise for DUMPLIN’: “Dumplin’ made me want to high-five everyone in the world. If there’s any justice on this godforsaken earth, Julie Murphy will become the next household name synonymous with YA.

Cristin Stickles

Praise for SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY: “Julie Murphy weaves together a tender and funny tale of love, friendship, heartache, and redemption. Side Effects May Vary explodes with brutal honesty, brilliant wit, and unflinching heart.

John Corey Whaley

Praise for DUMPLIN’: “I’m obsessed with this book. Wickedly funny, heartbreakingly real, full of characters to love and cheer for. DUMPLIN’ is such a star.

Katie Cotugno

Praise for DUMPLIN’: “Genuine, romantic, and with a dash of Texan charm, this is a novel that celebrates being who you are while also acknowledging that it’s incredibly difficult to do.

The Horn Book

Praise for RAMONA BLUE: “Ramona Blue is Julie Murphy’s best book yet. It’s hilarious, it’s heartfelt, and it’s so, so real. I just wish I’d had this book to read during my own teen years!

Robin Talley

Praise for RAMONA BLUE: “Julie Murphy delivers a fresh and glorious love story that addresses all the complexities of one’s heart. Ramona Blue’s discovery of limitless love is total beauty.

Adam Silvera

Praise for SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY: “Alice and Harvey’s relationship is raw, honest, moving, and unapologetic in its depiction of their individual, and collective, pain.

Booklist

★ 11/01/2019

Gr 3–7—Thirteen-year-old Patricia, aka "Sweet Pea," is still adjusting to life after her parents' divorce. She doesn't know how to feel about her new normal; her mom and dad are basically pretending nothing has changed, and are living on the same block in almost identical houses. Their shared neighbor is the esoteric Flora Mae, the elderly advice columnist behind "Miss Flora Mae I?" and all-around institution in Valentine, TX. Miss Flora goes out of town and entrusts her young neighbor with sending along her letters. When Sweet Pea finds a letter in familiar handwriting, she is compelled to answer and becomes embroiled in a well-intentioned scheme of moonlighting as Miss Flora whenever inspiration strikes. But some letters hit too close to home for Sweet Pea, leading to advice that's not always based in the sender's best interest. Murphy, (Dumplin', 2015), succeeds yet again at crafting a touching, quotable coming-of-age story, this time exploring divorce, shifting friendships, crushes, queerness, and much more. Sweet Pea is a delightfully astute young teenager; sometimes the novel's charm hits high on the saccharine scale, but the girl's gentle fumbles as she maneuvers big changes at home and school bring the text back down to earth. VERDICT A first purchase for collections seeking warm realistic fiction that centers divorce, friendship, and self-reflection.—Ashleigh Williams, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

★ 2019-07-24
Near the end of seventh grade, a girl tangles with her family's changing shape, her friendships' changing shapes, and a professional advice column that's left temptingly unguarded.

Sweet Pea lives in Valentine, Texas. Her therapist mother and housepainter father are divorcing—so amicably that Dad moves only two houses away, into a house almost identical in both structure and décor. This "twinning-parent-freak-show" is meant to keep Sweet Pea's life stable, but it doesn't. An ex-best-friend reenters Sweet Pea's life; a current best friend feels (justifiably) unappreciated; and Sweet Pea's job facilitating paperwork for a newspaper advice columnist—the peculiar old woman living between Sweet Pea's two "mirror" houses—gives Sweet Pea unfettered access to the incoming letters and the columnist's typewriter. What's a girl to do? Sweet Pea's first-person narration is endearing and funny while her oblivious self-absorption on certain topics lets readers figure out connections first. Murphy's portrayal of a fat protagonist whose body is neither symbolic nor problematic is cheerworthy; a scene about the juniors' section carrying only sizes too small for Sweet Pea is the only one that shows discrimination, and her parents and community support her. Sweet Pea, her parents, and the advice columnist are white (refreshingly, specified rather than assumed); one best friend is Mexican, the other mixed-race (black/white). A few characters are gay.

An excellent blend of eccentricity, humor, genuine sweetness, and mild drama. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

Read More