Seventh grader Patricia “Sweet Pea” DiMarco’s parents are divorced—her dad came out as gay—but they still live on the same street. In between their houses lives the eccentric Miss Flora Mae, who writes the local advice column “Miss Flora Mae I?” Sweet Pea is trying to manage life between two homes and also manage her own fractured relationship with her ex-best friend Kiera. Her new best friend Oscar offers some support, as does her fifteen-pound cat, Cheese.
When Flora leaves for a trip and asks Sweet Pea to forward her the letters for the column, however, Sweet Pea recognizes the handwriting on one envelope and decides to respond herself, setting off the catastrophic chain of events that forms the core of the plot.
Sweet Pea’s weight is heavier than average, but while Sweet Pea doesn’t like when she can’t find clothes in her size, and does hear some fatphobic comments from Kiera, she is generally self-confident and positive about her body. In fact, she draws a parallel at one point between people who use “gay” derogatively and those who use “fat” the same way, noting that in fact, neither term is a bad thing.
Engaging characterizations and Sweet Pea’s observant and often funny first-person narration, make this a great read.
Sweet Pea and her family are White.
