Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy
Published: 1 October 2019 (print)/1 October 2019 (audio) 
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins
Pages: 273/6 hours, 20 minutes
Narrator: Phoebe Strole
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Contemporary Junior Fiction
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars
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 neighbour 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?”
This book was enjoyable, had a few issues, but for a book kids will read it was a nice story. There was a lot of diversity and insights into being a kid, body issues and friend dramas, as well as big family changes.
Being in year seven I think Sweet Pea is around 13, which explains the lack of critical thinking and the impulsive actions. But while she is sensible in some areas, and has a well-rounded view on others, she is still quite selfish and judgemental of those around her. Having a character like this is good because why should a kid be perfect when they are still growing, and hopefully this story is the start of her growth. She has a lot of important things happening in her life and her good intentions don’t always work out.
One things I thought was curious was there are no consequences for Sweet Pea hiding her father’s important mail or deleting phone messages. I felt that was the wrong message to send that even if Sweet Pea felt bad, no adult found out what she did and even when it was clear there would have been major consequences nothing seemed to come of it.
Opening all the mail was magically forgotten about too, as was reading everyone’s private letters to Flora Mae and then resealing them (perfectly somehow) and sending them on. Even though there are consequences for the ones she does deal with, it was a weird thing to leave unmentioned.
The way characters are described aren’t blended well, there is a lot of “there is a guy behind the counter, he looks like this and is wearing this” but imagine this for every person Sweet Pea sees. It’s takes you from the story a little, especially in audio form when you stop to describe someone then the story continues. It shows off good representation and shows diversity, even if it’s a one off background character, but the writing needed to make it more streamlined.
Another unrealistic thing is I cannot imagine her school calling her Sweet Pea, even if it has Patricia on her forms. What kind of awkward thirteen year old wants everyone calling her Sweet Pea, I feel that is prime humiliation, even in a small town and a small school. She can’t be awkward and anxious while also being on having everyone call her a personal nickname.
Strole does a good job as narrator, I liked her voice for Sweet Pea and aside from the clunky descriptions I fell into the story easily.
Overall I liked the story, even with the flaws. Murphy writes these characters who are imperfect and finding their way in the world. It’s a bold adventure and a lot of change for Sweet Pea but one I think would resonate with a lot of kids around the same age.
You can purchase Dear Sweet Pea via the following
Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson
Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible
