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A review by reader_fictions
The Pages Between Us by Robin Mellom, Lindsey Leavitt
3.0
The Pages Between Us is super cute, but I’m again sitting here and thinking I should probably stop requesting so much middle grade. Since I’ve enjoyed YA contemporaries by both Leavitt and Mellom, I wanted to read their combined middle grade effort. It’s super cute, and I think if I were in elementary or middle school I probably would have had a lot of feels about it.
Man do I feel old reading books like this. I spent most of the book trying to decide if it was reasonable for a sixth grader (Olivia) to have had a crush on the same guy for years. I mean, it must have started in like second or third grade, which tbh is a lot of focus at that age. I think I had my first vague crush-ish thing in second grade but it didn’t exactly take a lot of my thoughts. I got my first lingering crush in fifth grade. And I know the popular kids started “dating” in fourth or so. Idk whatever I AM SO OLD NOW.
As a lover of middle grade ships, I was hoping there would be a cute one, and there’s some potential, but nothing happens really. It’s a lot of friends discussing boys but not any real romance. That’s probably more fitting for the intended audience but a bit disappointing for me.
The friendship dynamics are pretty well done. Piper and Olivia are best friends split apart by the cruelty of fate (aka class schedules) and they communicate in a notebook passed between classes. That conceit is a good one but does sometimes lead to some believability issues, like when they have conversations by writing in the notebook even thought they’re somewhere together and could talk OUT LOUD. But whatever. The conflict that arises when two friends go from being attached at the hip to having other interests and friends is good subject matter for kids (or lbr humans of all ages). I couldn’t really tell Olivia and Piper’s voices apart, but the writing is pleasant and humorous and what kept me going.
One thing did annoy me, though. Olivia’s mother is from Atlanta (Atlaaaaaanta), and the book references multiple times how southern she is and how her accent comes out. As someone who’s actually from Atlanta, that’s not someone from Atlanta. Anywhere else in Georgia, sure, but not Atlanta.
The Pages Between Us wasn’t what I wanted (aka more YA romance from these guys), but it was cute and fun. It’s sort of like the Jessica Darling middle grades but for a younger set.
Man do I feel old reading books like this. I spent most of the book trying to decide if it was reasonable for a sixth grader (Olivia) to have had a crush on the same guy for years. I mean, it must have started in like second or third grade, which tbh is a lot of focus at that age. I think I had my first vague crush-ish thing in second grade but it didn’t exactly take a lot of my thoughts. I got my first lingering crush in fifth grade. And I know the popular kids started “dating” in fourth or so. Idk whatever I AM SO OLD NOW.
As a lover of middle grade ships, I was hoping there would be a cute one, and there’s some potential, but nothing happens really. It’s a lot of friends discussing boys but not any real romance. That’s probably more fitting for the intended audience but a bit disappointing for me.
The friendship dynamics are pretty well done. Piper and Olivia are best friends split apart by the cruelty of fate (aka class schedules) and they communicate in a notebook passed between classes. That conceit is a good one but does sometimes lead to some believability issues, like when they have conversations by writing in the notebook even thought they’re somewhere together and could talk OUT LOUD. But whatever. The conflict that arises when two friends go from being attached at the hip to having other interests and friends is good subject matter for kids (or lbr humans of all ages). I couldn’t really tell Olivia and Piper’s voices apart, but the writing is pleasant and humorous and what kept me going.
One thing did annoy me, though. Olivia’s mother is from Atlanta (Atlaaaaaanta), and the book references multiple times how southern she is and how her accent comes out. As someone who’s actually from Atlanta, that’s not someone from Atlanta. Anywhere else in Georgia, sure, but not Atlanta.
The Pages Between Us wasn’t what I wanted (aka more YA romance from these guys), but it was cute and fun. It’s sort of like the Jessica Darling middle grades but for a younger set.