I’ve done a number of blog tours before but this one has been particularly special. To go with the theme of this novel—pen pals building a friendship that stretches all the way from the East to the West Coast—we were paired up with a fellow book blogger from the opposite side of the country to create our posts.
I was lucky enough to be paired up with the lovely Marília from Happy Reading Co.! She is a wonderful blogger and such a sweet person—I am so glad that we got to meet and work on this together. This has been a truly fun and unique experience, and the two of us are definitely planning to keep in touch and hopefully collaborate again sometime soon!
For our posts, Marília (West Coast) and I (East Coast) talked about and picked out our favorite quotes from the novel. We also split our final list between each other’s posts, so make sure to head over to her blog to see the other half of our collab!
Book Info:
To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
Date Published: February 12th, 2019
Publisher: Dial Books
Pages: 304 pages
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
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 the two girls (who sometimes call themselves Night Owl and Dogfish) figure out a way to be a family?
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My Favorite Quotes
A moon appears. We make wishes on shooting stars. Words beyond words are spoken.”
The reason I chose this quote is very simple—it is absolutely beautiful. This is describing one of the key moments in the novel that sets in motion the events that truly bring together this patchwork family. Wording this moment in the way the authors have here emphasizes the beauty of the relationships that are formed between not only the two girls but their loved ones as well.
I did have another dad (named Phillip), but he died super long ago so we’ve adjusted to his being gone, but we will always miss him. Every year on his birthday we light a candle and then we look at the stars because he told my dad that his soul was going to stretch out across the sky.”
This quote is honestly one of the most touching quotes in the novel. It is a wonderful sentiment and, having just gone through a number of huge losses in the past year or so myself, it really spoke to me on so many levels. It demonstrates the pain of loss but also how love transcends everything. Though we may experience the loss of loved ones, they never leave us. They will always be woven into our lives and absolutely nothing can break that link.
No one’s supposed to tell anyone, “You two shouldn’t love each other.” But maybe, also, no one’s supposed to tell anyone, “You two should love each other.”
I love the message that this quote is conveying and it also perfectly sums up the deeper meaning of the story. This book is all about bridging gaps, accepting people for who they are, and what it truly means to be a family. Love is love without question—it doesn’t need to abide by a set of rules or conform to one single definition. Families are not just people related by blood or marriage. They are formed by the profound connections we have with those we care about that will always stand the test of time.
Marília’s Favorite Quotes
Maybe when it’s your own story, you’re always going to be an unreliable narrator.”
Some people are a lot more interested in raising kids than other people. From what I can see, the person most interest usually does the best job.”
Dancing is a way of setting your spirit free.”
Make sure to go check out Marília’s post to see the rest of our favorite quotes!
Author Bios:
Holly Goldberg Sloan was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and spent her childhood living in Holland; Istanbul, Turkey; Washington, D.C.; 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.
Blog Tour Schedule
Week One
February 4 – Books4yourkids – Author Guest Post: What are the constraints – and freedoms – of writing an epistolary novel? Is it similar to writing a first person narrative?
February 4 – Two Points of Interest – Author Guest Post – what inspires you to write?
February 5 – Pages and Pugs – Favorite Quotes
February 5 – Amber After Glows – Favorite Quotes
February 6 – Read. Eat. Love. – Inspired by the Book: Food
February 6 – The Hermit Librarian – Inspired by the Book: Food
February 7 – Book Loaner Blog – Listicle: Camp Activities Inspired by the Book
February 7 – Books. Libraries. Also, cats – Listicle: Camp Activities Inspired by the Book
February 8 – Happy Reading Co. – Favorite Quotes
February 8 – The Quirky Book Nerd – Favorite Quotes
Week Two
February 11 – That Reader Girl – Listicle: Camp Songs
February 11 – We Live and Breathe Books – Listicle: Camp Songs
February 12 – Sam Maybe Reading – Review
February 12 – Randomly Reading – Review
February 13 – The Reading Corner for All – Creative Instagram Picture
February 13 – Dos Lit Worms – Creative Instagram Picture
February 14 – Laceydoeslit – Review + Playlist
February 14 – The Bookworm Banter – Review + Playlist
February 15 – YA Books Central – Author Q&A
February 15 – Because reading is better than real life – Author Q&A
The Quirky Book Nerd 