Almost Like a Sister

by M.L. Kennedy

Carla Santini. She's the Italian exchange student who's coming to stay with Jamie Hogan and her family. Jamie can hardly wait to spend time with Carla--it will be just like having a sister her own age. But Jamie has a lot to do before Carla arrives. There are rooms to organize and sleeping arrangements to decide. There are friends to tell the big news to, and four months of activities to schedule. And Jamie has her boyfriend, Andy, to think about. She wants to include him in all of the plans. Jamie spends hours imagining what Carla will be like. When Jamie finally sees her guest, why can't she believe her eyes?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1986

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I totally loved this book when I was about 13, but I read it a couple of months ago and it wasn't that great. I still like it though, because it reminds me of when I was young, haha.

[Vi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so dated that it's hilarious. I picked it up at a used bookstore, because it reminded me of the books I read a young child, and it's definitely typical of what I remember.

Jamie is an All American girl whose mother decides to get a foreign exchange student from Italy. Jamie is excited when she hears that she'll be sharing a bedroom with Carla Santini for four months, and she spends a good deal of time clearing a space for Carla in her room, deciding what they're going to do, and imagining what it'd be like to have a sister.

When Carla turns out to be Carlo, a male foreign exchange student who is attractive and confident, Jamie hates him on sight.

I don't think it's ever really explained why she hates this guy so much, particularly since he's nice to her. The relationship between them comes from nowhere, and it's shallow. However, it does have a very 80s feel which I kind of dug.

[Melinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Predictable plot, no emotional depth. I enjoyed reading the details of life in the '80s though.