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Scrambled Eggs at Midnight
Calliope (or Cal as she calls herself) wants nothing more than to stay put; to stop traveling cross-country with her mother, sleeping in a tent, and abandoning all belongings whenever they pull up stakes. Meanwhile, eliot misses the happy times he left behind when his father decided to open a camp for kids looking to lose weight and find Jesus. when Cal and eliot meet by chance, they feel an immediate connection. together they must face their isolation, the threat of yet another move, and the deepening of eliot’s father’s obsession. in their case, love just might be everything it’s cracked up to be.
262 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 2006
38 people are currently reading
3218 people want to read
About the author
Brad Barkley
14 books47 followersBrad Barkley is the author of the novels Money, Love (Norton), and Alison's Automotive Repair Manual (St. Martin’s), two collections of short stories, and three YA novels with Penguin: Scrambled Eggs at Midnight , Dream Factory, and Jars of Glass. Brad has won numerous awards, including four Individual Artist Awards from the State of Maryland and a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. His short fiction has appeared in nearly thirty magazines, including Southern Review, Georgia Review, the Oxford American, Glimmer Train, and the Virginia Quarterly Review, which twice awarded him the Emily Balch Prize for Best Fiction. His work was anthologized in New Stories from the South: The Year's Best. A native of North Carolina, he lives in Western Maryland with his wife Kristin and their dog, Millie Grace. When not working, he plays as a hang glider pilot and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 277 reviews
May 4, 2011
The contents and the language are very philosophical and very beautiful. So beautiful and deep indeed that they are - in my opinion - on the verge of suffocating the story. I felt like a person who loves honey but who can only really appreciate its sticky sweetness when it is set off against the sour solidness of a thick and grainy slice of bread. If you tend to muttering: "Nice simile, but now go on talking about the book instead of your feelings" at this point of my review, you are one of those fellow readers who would be on the way to feeling quite impatient (maybe bored) around page 100. I threw the towel at page 106. My inner ants were gnawing my insides already. Too many musings, too many detailed descriptions and dissections. But I know that there are armies of other "honey-lovers" who would embrace with glee exactly what keeps me from reading on. If you care to dig yourself through to the bottom of this barrel of molassy-language delight, you find a sweet - and maybe a little unbelievable - love-on-the-very-first-sight-story about two unique and very lonely fifteen-year-olds, each fitted out with a selfish parent I would like to smack hard and soundfully. I, on the other hand, go on searching elsewhere for another perfectly out-balanced piece of contemporary young adult fiction: Fragrant and flowing, but also chunky and real.
February 19, 2013
Meh. I almost didn't finish this. I liked most of the characters and writing okay, and I didn't begrudge protagonists Cal and Eliot their unrealistic instalove too much because it's sort of the point of the story, but I just felt like the internal monologues were too much. Like the writers were trying too hard and going too far.
For example, there's a scene where the two protags are driving, and Cal mentally describes the silence they're in as a comfortable one using some kind of color, like "a soft rosy silence" or something, and then she says something and Eliot gets uncomfortable and the silence shifts to "a cold blue silence" or something else - I'm too lazy to look it up. Anyway, I thought it was kind of a cool device the first time, but as it goes on and she repaints their various silences about four different colors in that chapter alone, I start to think, "Unless Cal actually has synesthesia, which I have no reason to believe she does, this is too much."
Anyway, though, there's some humor I appreciate. The book's okay. It's just that when the characters stop and get lost in their own heads, the prose - to take a page out of Cal's book of description - becomes a bit purple.
For example, there's a scene where the two protags are driving, and Cal mentally describes the silence they're in as a comfortable one using some kind of color, like "a soft rosy silence" or something, and then she says something and Eliot gets uncomfortable and the silence shifts to "a cold blue silence" or something else - I'm too lazy to look it up. Anyway, I thought it was kind of a cool device the first time, but as it goes on and she repaints their various silences about four different colors in that chapter alone, I start to think, "Unless Cal actually has synesthesia, which I have no reason to believe she does, this is too much."
Anyway, though, there's some humor I appreciate. The book's okay. It's just that when the characters stop and get lost in their own heads, the prose - to take a page out of Cal's book of description - becomes a bit purple.
December 9, 2010
A sweet romance with quirky characters. Does a good job of showing the lack of control over one's own life that is such a frustrating part of adolescence. Told in alternating perspectives, some truly insightful and moving passages.
January 9, 2009
kinda weird. the writers are a little too wordy at times, but i thought it was nice.
May 12, 2009
Synopsis
In this young-adult romance novel, the authors [Brad Barkley ; Heather Hepler:] join ideas to convey the summer love of two young people in the southern portion of the Carolinas. Throughout the novel the authors take turns revealing the plot of the story by switching up the view from which it is told. With the beginning of each chapter comes either the viewpoint of Calliope [or Cal as she preferred to be called:], one half of the lovely bond, or the viewpoint of Eliot, the male half.
Cal plays the part of the drifter. When her mother and father decide to get a divorce her mother loads up the little hatchback in the driveway. One of the objects that she puts in the front seat is Calliope. Drifting from state to state depending on the season, Cal is forced to leave most of her valuables behind whenever her mother catches onto the whims of change. Cal complies with her mother’s wishes for fear of hurting her... that is until she meets Eliot.
Eliot plays the part of the misunderstood boy who has thoughts that do not match that of his parents. From the ambitions of his father, Eliot is forced to leave his “happy” life and move to the mountains with the rest of his family. Unluckily for him, his father’s ambitions coincide with the Lord’s work, therefore must be abided by because it is His word. In his spare time Eliot enjoys building fireworks as a way of giving himself some sort of sanctuary from “The Dad”.
It’s somewhat of an act of fate when Cal and Eliot meet. It’s like they give each other something that they’ve been missing for far to long.
Rhetoric/content of Scrambled Eggs at Midnight
There aren’t that many revolutionary things about this novel. It’s a story that’s been told countless times. Love between two star crossed teenagers: sound familiar?
However, while that is true, this novel accomplishes it’s purpose. It’s a cute pick-me-up in the midst of serious and tragic literature. It offers something that most other novels do not, and that is a sense of faith that things really will turn out the way that they are planned to. The novel makes the reader root for the two characters to both overcome their adversities and end up together in the last pages.
Where writing style is concerned, the novel, while using simplistic language and diction, is easy to understand. It is appropriate for the novel’s target audience. Everything is straightforward. Everything that happens is spoon fed to the reader. Nothing is left up to imagination.
Laurin’s Opinion of Scrambled Eggs at Midnight
In my opinion the novel is nothing special. It isn’t unbearable, however it isn’t overly entertaining either.
The one thing that I really enjoyed about the novel was the fact that it did a fairly fine job of pulling me into the story and out of reality for a while. It had enough gusto [for lack of a better term:] to allow me to become somewhat engaged.
On the other hand, it’s probably just my preference, but I enjoy a novel that can make me think. I love dissecting metaphors and contemplating meaning. I love learning new diction while reading, and i love story lines that are unique. This novel offers none of those things.
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, in my opinion, is more for the reader with an appreciation for the simpler things in literature.
In this young-adult romance novel, the authors [Brad Barkley ; Heather Hepler:] join ideas to convey the summer love of two young people in the southern portion of the Carolinas. Throughout the novel the authors take turns revealing the plot of the story by switching up the view from which it is told. With the beginning of each chapter comes either the viewpoint of Calliope [or Cal as she preferred to be called:], one half of the lovely bond, or the viewpoint of Eliot, the male half.
Cal plays the part of the drifter. When her mother and father decide to get a divorce her mother loads up the little hatchback in the driveway. One of the objects that she puts in the front seat is Calliope. Drifting from state to state depending on the season, Cal is forced to leave most of her valuables behind whenever her mother catches onto the whims of change. Cal complies with her mother’s wishes for fear of hurting her... that is until she meets Eliot.
Eliot plays the part of the misunderstood boy who has thoughts that do not match that of his parents. From the ambitions of his father, Eliot is forced to leave his “happy” life and move to the mountains with the rest of his family. Unluckily for him, his father’s ambitions coincide with the Lord’s work, therefore must be abided by because it is His word. In his spare time Eliot enjoys building fireworks as a way of giving himself some sort of sanctuary from “The Dad”.
It’s somewhat of an act of fate when Cal and Eliot meet. It’s like they give each other something that they’ve been missing for far to long.
Rhetoric/content of Scrambled Eggs at Midnight
There aren’t that many revolutionary things about this novel. It’s a story that’s been told countless times. Love between two star crossed teenagers: sound familiar?
However, while that is true, this novel accomplishes it’s purpose. It’s a cute pick-me-up in the midst of serious and tragic literature. It offers something that most other novels do not, and that is a sense of faith that things really will turn out the way that they are planned to. The novel makes the reader root for the two characters to both overcome their adversities and end up together in the last pages.
Where writing style is concerned, the novel, while using simplistic language and diction, is easy to understand. It is appropriate for the novel’s target audience. Everything is straightforward. Everything that happens is spoon fed to the reader. Nothing is left up to imagination.
Laurin’s Opinion of Scrambled Eggs at Midnight
In my opinion the novel is nothing special. It isn’t unbearable, however it isn’t overly entertaining either.
The one thing that I really enjoyed about the novel was the fact that it did a fairly fine job of pulling me into the story and out of reality for a while. It had enough gusto [for lack of a better term:] to allow me to become somewhat engaged.
On the other hand, it’s probably just my preference, but I enjoy a novel that can make me think. I love dissecting metaphors and contemplating meaning. I love learning new diction while reading, and i love story lines that are unique. This novel offers none of those things.
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, in my opinion, is more for the reader with an appreciation for the simpler things in literature.
September 3, 2021
Never love anything.
Or, if you loved something in the past and you have a sneaking suspicion that it won't hold up, leave it in the past.
I loved this book so much that when I created my Goodreads account in high school, I put it on my romance shelf. It had lodged itself into my head. But reading it as an adult, I cannot tell why.
There was barely a plot. The most interesting things were the backgrounds: the Renaissance Faire, the fat Christian campground, the food truck. Cal and Eliot had zero personality and zero build up in their relationship!
I was glad to have this over with. Monsoon Summer or Sarah Dessen's books won't have betrayed me this bad.
(Psst, I'm on Storygraph, which is better app than goodreads except I don't have anyone to follow! Find me there @alj24)
Or, if you loved something in the past and you have a sneaking suspicion that it won't hold up, leave it in the past.
I loved this book so much that when I created my Goodreads account in high school, I put it on my romance shelf. It had lodged itself into my head. But reading it as an adult, I cannot tell why.
There was barely a plot. The most interesting things were the backgrounds: the Renaissance Faire, the fat Christian campground, the food truck. Cal and Eliot had zero personality and zero build up in their relationship!
I was glad to have this over with. Monsoon Summer or Sarah Dessen's books won't have betrayed me this bad.
(Psst, I'm on Storygraph, which is better app than goodreads except I don't have anyone to follow! Find me there @alj24)
May 22, 2020
I read this book for the first time in middle school and rereading it did not let me down. The language is so beautiful and it’s take on teenage love are both insightful and innocent. I love everything about this book
December 12, 2018
Calliope (or Cal) is a teenager who just wants to stay put and stop traveling the country with her mother, looking for work and sleeping in tents for four year. Eliot is just a normal teenager who misses the times before his family started up a camp to help kids lose weight while also learning about Jesus. One day Cal and Eliot meet by chance at the camp owned by Eliot’s father and immediately make a connection. While having fun they still have have to fear that Cal and her mom could just pack up one day and leave without even saying goodbye. Cal has to worry about losing what she thinks is the love of her life and never being able to find a place to live permanently. Eliot also has to fear losing the love of his life and losing his dad because of the camp and his obsession for money and Jesus.
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley is a good book for teens looking to read a short book in their spare time. What I liked about the book is that it’s a cute book about young love.
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley is a good book for teens looking to read a short book in their spare time. What I liked about the book is that it’s a cute book about young love.
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March 23, 2025“We stay where we are, and the moon finds us.”
:,)
:,)
June 24, 2011
The title is Scrambled eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkely and Heather Hepler.This book is realistic/romantic fiction,it has a very realistic point that every teen experiences at some point in their life.This book starts out with Calliope (15) and Delores (her mother) moving again, now to North Carolina so that Delores can work as a wench in the Renaissance Fair.As they drive in to town Cali’s eyes spy an out of place kid with piercing blue eyes and frog green lips,as if he’s wearing lipstick.He waves at her and she feels butterflies in her stomach!As the story builds Cal and her mom set up their tent and Cal goes into town to look around when she meets the green lipped kid in the library,and she likes him from the start. The book goes on to elaborate on Cal’s and Elliot’s relationship, she gives him the honors of her first kiss, and she encourages him to do things he would never in his right mind do. Then Cal finds a job, and Elliot makes sure Fat camp runs smoothly. Cal becomes really good friends with the restaurant owner she works for, and her mom comes out and tells her she is in a relationship with some weirdo that Cal can’t stand. Just when Elliot’s miserable life seems to be coming to a standstill this new relationship with Cal, lights a fire big enough to keep him going. And just when Cal and Elliot make their first steps into a relationship together Calls mom tells her that they’re moving again- to New Mexico so that Deloris and her boyfriend would be together (her man found a new job.) Cal has to break the news to Elliot at the beach. As the book goes on Cal and Elliot try to talk her mom out of moving to New Mexico, but nothing seems to work. To find out how this relationship blossoms and keeps going even after the threats of the New Mexico move you have to read the book to find out!
The paragraph that represents Brad and Heathers writing is:
“You won’t like it,”a voice says.I turn my head to the left.He’s not looking at me but down at the book in his hands.I look beyond him,but there isn’t anyone else in the store.He turns to face me,and I am startled by two things.First, he’s eyes are the darkest blue I have ever seen.Almost black, second-and this is the thing that makes me keep looking much longer than I normally would -his lips are green. I mean really green, like if suddenly the lights went t out in the store and the sun went black, I could probably read by the light his lips put off. I keep looking at him, waiting for him to something else. There’s a voice in my brain that is screaming at me and getting louder. Say something, it tells me.Converse,but all I am thinking is blue green, blue green, blue green like some sort of moron, and the best I can come up with is“Why?”and in my brain I’m thinking,Why do you keep looking at me that way?Why won’t I like this book?Why are you lips green?Why are you talking to me?
This paragraph represents the authors’ writing because it has all the precise details that are all throughout the whole book. It shows the impatient side of Calliope that the authors try to communicate to you throughout the book. But it shows a lot of dialog which this book has plenty of. The conversations, the precise descriptions, the feelings make you feel like you are the character standing and thinking those things.i also love how the authors made this book a made it into a two person perspective, every other chapter the two characters switch of point of views so thats really nice.
My opinion on this book can be summarized into one word: phenomenal!But that’s not enough for a book review.I would defiantly recommend this book to any teen girl,who enjoys a romantic chick book,with lots of love,romance,fun and excitement.This a great fast read for a gorgeous summer beach day,it draws you into the state of North Carolina and you are right next to the characters,there when they share their first kiss and all that jazz.It’s fun to read a book that has a happy ending,one that you can cry about because it’s that cheesy or laugh and be happy because again it’s that cheesy and cute.I would 100% recommend reading this book to a girl who either has some relationship issues or just needs to take her mind off of her own worries and drown in the drama of someone else’s romantic story.
F.Y.I.i enjoy a good book weather it has a cheesy ending or not,but i mostly go for the fun,romantic,cheesy books because i dont like to feel sad at the end of a book!
if you have any book suggestions for me to read comment below!:)
October 10, 2015
Personal Response:
I thought this book was very good. I thought it was very entertaining and I did not wan to put it down. I liked that this book was written with two points of view. The two main characters are Calliope and Eliot. Every other chapter it switches points of veiw. I like that you can see what both characters are thinking in a given situation. My favorite part of this book was the ending because what I wanted to happen happened.
Polt Summary:
Caliope is 15 years old and she travels with her mother to different Renaissance faires around the United Sates. Their next stop is in North Carolina. Her mother makes jewelry and she works as a wench. Calliope knows not to get too attached to anything or anyone because she knows that they will leave soon. At the Renaissance faire, Calliope gets to know a man named Able. They become pretty close because Calliope offered to help him run his barbecue stand. In return Calliope gets rides from able into town. One day while Calliope was in the bookshop she met a guy with green lips. She saw him again at a Christian fat camp. Calliope and her mother were at that fat camp hoping to find a place to stay for a while. The boy with green lips,that were now normal colored, name was Eliot. Calliope found out his name while their parents were talking. They went on a walk around the camp together. They started to get to know each other and they both started to like each other. Eliot's father said that they cannot stay at the camp. Eliot was kind of mad because he wanted to be able to see Calliope. So, for the next couple of days he made an excuse to go into town so he could go to the bookstore to see if Calliope was there. When they were both at the bookstore, Eliot invited Calliope to come to the camp to see his fireworks. That night was the first time they kissed. Eliot would go to the faire just to see her. They were falling in love just when Delores, Calliope's mother, said they were leaving in 28 days. She said they were moving to Santa Fe with her new boyfriend Phi. Eliot tried everything to convince Calliope to stay with him in North Carolina, but she knew that she had to go. Over those 28 days, a lot happened. First, there was a missing camper. Then, there was a flood. Calliope was fighting with her mother one last time to try and convince her to stay. In the end, Elliot and Calliope got to stay together, and Delores still left with Phi. Even though Dolores left, she keeps in touch and, she and Calliope have the best relationship they've had in a long time.
Recommendation:
This book is a good book for middle school and high school girls. It is a love story so it you don't like those kind of books, this book is not for you. It is very good and will make you want to know more.
I thought this book was very good. I thought it was very entertaining and I did not wan to put it down. I liked that this book was written with two points of view. The two main characters are Calliope and Eliot. Every other chapter it switches points of veiw. I like that you can see what both characters are thinking in a given situation. My favorite part of this book was the ending because what I wanted to happen happened.
Polt Summary:
Caliope is 15 years old and she travels with her mother to different Renaissance faires around the United Sates. Their next stop is in North Carolina. Her mother makes jewelry and she works as a wench. Calliope knows not to get too attached to anything or anyone because she knows that they will leave soon. At the Renaissance faire, Calliope gets to know a man named Able. They become pretty close because Calliope offered to help him run his barbecue stand. In return Calliope gets rides from able into town. One day while Calliope was in the bookshop she met a guy with green lips. She saw him again at a Christian fat camp. Calliope and her mother were at that fat camp hoping to find a place to stay for a while. The boy with green lips,that were now normal colored, name was Eliot. Calliope found out his name while their parents were talking. They went on a walk around the camp together. They started to get to know each other and they both started to like each other. Eliot's father said that they cannot stay at the camp. Eliot was kind of mad because he wanted to be able to see Calliope. So, for the next couple of days he made an excuse to go into town so he could go to the bookstore to see if Calliope was there. When they were both at the bookstore, Eliot invited Calliope to come to the camp to see his fireworks. That night was the first time they kissed. Eliot would go to the faire just to see her. They were falling in love just when Delores, Calliope's mother, said they were leaving in 28 days. She said they were moving to Santa Fe with her new boyfriend Phi. Eliot tried everything to convince Calliope to stay with him in North Carolina, but she knew that she had to go. Over those 28 days, a lot happened. First, there was a missing camper. Then, there was a flood. Calliope was fighting with her mother one last time to try and convince her to stay. In the end, Elliot and Calliope got to stay together, and Delores still left with Phi. Even though Dolores left, she keeps in touch and, she and Calliope have the best relationship they've had in a long time.
Recommendation:
This book is a good book for middle school and high school girls. It is a love story so it you don't like those kind of books, this book is not for you. It is very good and will make you want to know more.
March 3, 2024
Publishers Weekly said Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, is for “…Readers who wish Romeo and Juliet had a happier ending…” Booklist called it, “A refreshing, poetic, memorable story filled with the precise small details that nudge people toward love…” The Penguin Group published Scrambled Eggs at Midnight in 2006, only one month after Heather Hepler and Brad Barkley finished writing. Heather wrote half of the first chapter before realizing that a novel was a huge undertaking on her own. After calling Brad for some advice, they agreed to write it together. With chapters alternating between Eliot and Cal, Scrambled Eggs at Midnight is a teenage love story about what happens when you just let yourself fall, and I fell hard. I fell in love, not only with the main characters of this book, but with many of the supporting ones too. There were just so many lovable people.
Moving from place to place, Calliope never imagined the small town of Asheville North Carolina would be any different, she assumed it would be just like the nine other moves they’d had in the past four years. She never expected it to feel like home, never expected she’d want to stay, and never expected she’d find what she never really knew she was missing. Eliot had lived in North Carolina all of his life, and still sorely missed the Carolina beaches they moved away from years before. Shortly after relocating Eliot’s dad opened a fat camp whose slogan was “What would Jesus eat?” Being in a small town, it didn't take long for Cal and Eliot to meet at the local bookstore. Ingrained in Eliot’s mind forever, is the vision of Cal’s curly red hair and her bright green eyes. And Cal can’t stop thinking about how Eliot’s eyes were so blue they were nearly-black, and, she had to constantly remind herself, how his lips were green, definitely green.
After spending more time together Cal and Eliot realize they have an immediate connection. Cal has finally found something solid in her life and Eliot is finally coming out of his shell. And I loved every single bit of it. It's so hard to find words to explain how much I loved this book. It's just that good. I've never read another Chick-Lit book that I liked as much as Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, and honestly, I'm not sure if I ever will. So read it, and I promise you'll fall in love too.
-Kit
Moving from place to place, Calliope never imagined the small town of Asheville North Carolina would be any different, she assumed it would be just like the nine other moves they’d had in the past four years. She never expected it to feel like home, never expected she’d want to stay, and never expected she’d find what she never really knew she was missing. Eliot had lived in North Carolina all of his life, and still sorely missed the Carolina beaches they moved away from years before. Shortly after relocating Eliot’s dad opened a fat camp whose slogan was “What would Jesus eat?” Being in a small town, it didn't take long for Cal and Eliot to meet at the local bookstore. Ingrained in Eliot’s mind forever, is the vision of Cal’s curly red hair and her bright green eyes. And Cal can’t stop thinking about how Eliot’s eyes were so blue they were nearly-black, and, she had to constantly remind herself, how his lips were green, definitely green.
After spending more time together Cal and Eliot realize they have an immediate connection. Cal has finally found something solid in her life and Eliot is finally coming out of his shell. And I loved every single bit of it. It's so hard to find words to explain how much I loved this book. It's just that good. I've never read another Chick-Lit book that I liked as much as Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, and honestly, I'm not sure if I ever will. So read it, and I promise you'll fall in love too.
-Kit
July 10, 2011
Okay, this wasn't my favorite book in the world, but i would recommend it if you really need a 'perfect' love story.So here is the plot for those of you who don't already know...
Calliope and her mom constantly move and never end up staying in one place for long. When she gets to North Carolina she meets Eliot and decides she wants to stay here forever, but her mom wants her to keep going with her..AHH WHAT WILL SHE DO.
okay well one thing i liked about this book is that i could see myself wishing that i was Cal, that i had someone like Eliot, and that i could just live happily ever after. I did like Cal and Eliot's relationship but honestly that was about it...(however that is an important part because that was like the whole book)
There were multiple things i really didn't like about Scrambled Eggs at Midnight as well...first off...there wasn't really any anticipation at all(i suppose a tad bit at the end...) regarding Cal and Eliot's relationship, they fell in love...too easily. The moment they see each other its love at first sight, he talks about knowing she was 'the one' when he saw her for the first time(which was while he was standing on the street and she drove by in her moms car). From that point on they magically met again and were soulmates. It was incredibly unrealistic at most points in the story..the only things i can really see happening in everyday life are the situations regarding Cal's mom and Eliot's parents.
Soooo basically its a quick read...but not actually very good.. you should put this book back on the shelf and pick up The Mortal Instruments..or The Hunger Games instead.
Calliope and her mom constantly move and never end up staying in one place for long. When she gets to North Carolina she meets Eliot and decides she wants to stay here forever, but her mom wants her to keep going with her..AHH WHAT WILL SHE DO.
okay well one thing i liked about this book is that i could see myself wishing that i was Cal, that i had someone like Eliot, and that i could just live happily ever after. I did like Cal and Eliot's relationship but honestly that was about it...(however that is an important part because that was like the whole book)
There were multiple things i really didn't like about Scrambled Eggs at Midnight as well...first off...there wasn't really any anticipation at all(i suppose a tad bit at the end...) regarding Cal and Eliot's relationship, they fell in love...too easily. The moment they see each other its love at first sight, he talks about knowing she was 'the one' when he saw her for the first time(which was while he was standing on the street and she drove by in her moms car). From that point on they magically met again and were soulmates. It was incredibly unrealistic at most points in the story..the only things i can really see happening in everyday life are the situations regarding Cal's mom and Eliot's parents.
Soooo basically its a quick read...but not actually very good.. you should put this book back on the shelf and pick up The Mortal Instruments..or The Hunger Games instead.
January 25, 2016
Sigh. This was such a good one. So perfectly romantic and quirky.
Cal and her mom follow Renaissance Faires - you know the ones, with the jousting and the booths selling swords and the wenches. For years Cal's life has to fit into a carboard box that can moved at the whims of her mother and it's really starting to wear on her. When they arrive in Asheville, it seems like it will be just like any other summer - until she meets Eliot. Eliot, the son of a preaching fat-camp director. Eliot who is passionate and intelligent and whose stability is exactly what Cal's been searching for without knowing it.
And they fall in love.
And it's wonderful.
There are other characters - intricate and changing, making Cal and Eliot a part of their lives. I loved the verbal interplays, the Romeo and Juliet-esqeness of the plot and their honest conversation about "going all the way." I fell for their "meant to be-ness" hook, line and sinker. I can see how some people would maybe find it hokey, but up against the emotional baggage and the parental disconnectedness, their love was just right for me.
Cal and her mom follow Renaissance Faires - you know the ones, with the jousting and the booths selling swords and the wenches. For years Cal's life has to fit into a carboard box that can moved at the whims of her mother and it's really starting to wear on her. When they arrive in Asheville, it seems like it will be just like any other summer - until she meets Eliot. Eliot, the son of a preaching fat-camp director. Eliot who is passionate and intelligent and whose stability is exactly what Cal's been searching for without knowing it.
And they fall in love.
And it's wonderful.
There are other characters - intricate and changing, making Cal and Eliot a part of their lives. I loved the verbal interplays, the Romeo and Juliet-esqeness of the plot and their honest conversation about "going all the way." I fell for their "meant to be-ness" hook, line and sinker. I can see how some people would maybe find it hokey, but up against the emotional baggage and the parental disconnectedness, their love was just right for me.
March 12, 2012
Romance
Darien Munden
Calliope, or Cal as she refers to herself, has to deal with an irresponsible mother who seems more interested in finding love than caring for her own family. Eliot has a father who fancies himself a Messenger for God but barely understand Scripture. Between Calliope's mother, Delores, always moving their family whenever work or romance falls through and Eliot's father opening up his own Christian Camp to help kids get thin while "preaching" the gospel these two have little interest in their respective families. When they meet for the first time they instantly feel an attraction for each other and discover where it leads them. The book is both humorous and romantic and is intended to make the reader chuckle as much at the silly moments between the two main characters as it is designed to make readers swoon from sheer romantic cheesiness. I give it two thumbs up!
Darien Munden
Calliope, or Cal as she refers to herself, has to deal with an irresponsible mother who seems more interested in finding love than caring for her own family. Eliot has a father who fancies himself a Messenger for God but barely understand Scripture. Between Calliope's mother, Delores, always moving their family whenever work or romance falls through and Eliot's father opening up his own Christian Camp to help kids get thin while "preaching" the gospel these two have little interest in their respective families. When they meet for the first time they instantly feel an attraction for each other and discover where it leads them. The book is both humorous and romantic and is intended to make the reader chuckle as much at the silly moments between the two main characters as it is designed to make readers swoon from sheer romantic cheesiness. I give it two thumbs up!
March 21, 2014
The plot of this book is about true love. Eliot and Caliope are two teenagers who pretty much fell in love at first sight. Eliot is a rich preacher's son. He isn't the typically preacher's kid. He drives illegally, has a fake ID, and shoots fireworks in his backyard. Caliope, on the other hand, travels around the country with her mom trying to find a perfect home. Caliope and her mom are not the wealthiest. Caliope's mom hasn't gone to college so she works at Faires. Caliope and her mom wound up sleeping at Eliot's mansion type house. Caliope and Eliot instantly clicked. Over all, I enjoyed this book because I feel like I could relate to their type of story in the future. I also feel like other teens can relate to the love in this book. I recommend this book to people who are a sucker for love stories.
August 12, 2016
The beginning was a bit of a drag. I actually fell asleep while reading it, either because it was so boring, or because it was so late at night. (It most likely was not the latter.) Scrambled Eggs at Midnight got better when half the book was already over. It was then that I liked the characters more. Even then, I didn't like them all that much. Cal and Eliot had a weird relationship... it's not very realistic. Overall, this book was okay, but nothing different from books already published.
*Edit: This book is not at all memorable. I actually forgot I read this, haha.
*Edit: This book is not at all memorable. I actually forgot I read this, haha.
February 26, 2009
A young teen recently said she like this. It is a nice romance to recommend to girls who would like such. Added bonus of the girl needs to find her own way due to a self-absorbed mother going on and some nicely done small town characters.
October 17, 2013
don't talk shit about this book; i'll fuck you up so hard.
this book ruined my life in, like, the seventh grade and continues to ruin my life to this day.
i don't care that it's a YA romance novel. this book is flawless.
this book ruined my life in, like, the seventh grade and continues to ruin my life to this day.
i don't care that it's a YA romance novel. this book is flawless.
December 29, 2013
This book is a very sweet, cute romance for teens. I loved this book and begged my mom to buy it for me for Christmas! I was so delighted to open it on Christmas morning. You should definitely read this book if you love simple romance :)
May 30, 2016
It was the cutest!! I fell in LOVE with the characters, the authors did a stupendous job. This story will have you SNATCHED.
March 11, 2009
I love this book. I'm re-reading it and it's really sweet.
July 26, 2022
This was a bit of an emotionally risky re-read for me, and I'm happily relieved to emerge relatively unscathed.
This book features heavily in my teenage past. I read it first when I was around 15 years old (the same as Cal and Elliot in the novel itself). I didn't read much YA romance, but this book stood out to me and became so significant because of the way it took young love so seriously: this book dared to entertain the idea that the very young could experience - and be correct about - the reality of true love.
At the time I first read this, I had recently emerged dazed and bruised from my first 'real' relationship, and the emotional fallout had seemed to be boundless in its devastation. The first time I'd fallen in love had been euphoric and glorious and soft and sweet and joyful; it taught me the foundations of what I should come to seek in a life partner. And the breakup was eviscerating in its messy, complicated exodus. The whole experience had introduced me to a significant proportion of the emotional spectrum to which I can currently lay claim.
During this time, most of the mentors I had previously respected disappointed me with their responses to it. So few of them were happy for me. We were young, yes, so was their skepticism of our eternal romantic endurance understandable? Perhaps. Was it necessary, though, for them to openly scorn my experience instead? From the early joys of first love to the agonizing sorrow of losing it, I consistently felt criticised, ignored, and worst of all, pitied, by those whose joyful guidance I had eagerly anticipated.
This book vocalized for me, in the settling dust of it all, what it was I had loved so much about falling in love, and how complicated it was to do so. The book let me examine which parts of love I had been wrong about, and learn from them; and showed me which parts I'd been right about, and rejoiced in them.
This book so openly reflected my heart's desires that I drew from it many mantras to guide my hungry search for eternal love thereafter. "The forever kind of deal" became the star by which I sailed my ship towards passion.
I confess [bizarrely: here and now] that it wasn't a perfect bible for finding love, of course, and also that it did influence me in an ultimately unfortunate way. I later fell in love was with a man who now reminds me so thoroughly of Elliot that this reread became a sort of autobiographical spectre. Nonetheless, at the time, I was decidedly smitten. I wrote in my Christmas card to him that year - in full sincerity - that I humbly and truly hoped that what we'd begun would indeed be the forever kind of deal.
Two months later, I met my soul mate. I met _my_ Elliot, and knew his heart at first sight. My existential joy in meeting my binary star was nonetheless not insignificantly affected by my sorrow in losing the man I had I loved. Swallowing those words I'd so vulnerably proferred to my former lover has been a frog in my throat for many years. How can I have meant it so sincerely and still been wrong? It had severe consequences on my trust in my own decisions. I knew I was right about my now-husband; but, at the time, I was also right about my former lover.
This re-read reminded me that both can be true. That being in love, and being right or wrong, aren't part of the same galactic axis.
(Maybe tbc?)
This book features heavily in my teenage past. I read it first when I was around 15 years old (the same as Cal and Elliot in the novel itself). I didn't read much YA romance, but this book stood out to me and became so significant because of the way it took young love so seriously: this book dared to entertain the idea that the very young could experience - and be correct about - the reality of true love.
At the time I first read this, I had recently emerged dazed and bruised from my first 'real' relationship, and the emotional fallout had seemed to be boundless in its devastation. The first time I'd fallen in love had been euphoric and glorious and soft and sweet and joyful; it taught me the foundations of what I should come to seek in a life partner. And the breakup was eviscerating in its messy, complicated exodus. The whole experience had introduced me to a significant proportion of the emotional spectrum to which I can currently lay claim.
During this time, most of the mentors I had previously respected disappointed me with their responses to it. So few of them were happy for me. We were young, yes, so was their skepticism of our eternal romantic endurance understandable? Perhaps. Was it necessary, though, for them to openly scorn my experience instead? From the early joys of first love to the agonizing sorrow of losing it, I consistently felt criticised, ignored, and worst of all, pitied, by those whose joyful guidance I had eagerly anticipated.
This book vocalized for me, in the settling dust of it all, what it was I had loved so much about falling in love, and how complicated it was to do so. The book let me examine which parts of love I had been wrong about, and learn from them; and showed me which parts I'd been right about, and rejoiced in them.
This book so openly reflected my heart's desires that I drew from it many mantras to guide my hungry search for eternal love thereafter. "The forever kind of deal" became the star by which I sailed my ship towards passion.
I confess [bizarrely: here and now] that it wasn't a perfect bible for finding love, of course, and also that it did influence me in an ultimately unfortunate way. I later fell in love was with a man who now reminds me so thoroughly of Elliot that this reread became a sort of autobiographical spectre. Nonetheless, at the time, I was decidedly smitten. I wrote in my Christmas card to him that year - in full sincerity - that I humbly and truly hoped that what we'd begun would indeed be the forever kind of deal.
Two months later, I met my soul mate. I met _my_ Elliot, and knew his heart at first sight. My existential joy in meeting my binary star was nonetheless not insignificantly affected by my sorrow in losing the man I had I loved. Swallowing those words I'd so vulnerably proferred to my former lover has been a frog in my throat for many years. How can I have meant it so sincerely and still been wrong? It had severe consequences on my trust in my own decisions. I knew I was right about my now-husband; but, at the time, I was also right about my former lover.
This re-read reminded me that both can be true. That being in love, and being right or wrong, aren't part of the same galactic axis.
(Maybe tbc?)
May 12, 2022
I thought this book was not that great. It was just your average teen love book, not really interesting. The book is just the two characters saying weird things because they’re in love. The part of the book I did like was how Eliot described his dad. His dad ran a camp to get people in shape and teach them about God. Eliot describes his dad’s belief as, “She looked like she believed in something, or wanted to, and I hoped to hell it wasn’t God, not in the way The Dad believes, because all that does is make him forced and desperate.” His dad is just trying to make money in any way possible, not really believing what he teaches. The whole character is just interesting because it's a strange choice for the author. The thing is though, I can think of people exactly like that. Some people just do things to make a few bucks, not to make a difference or to do what they love. A good theme from this book is that you can’t let other people control your life. Both the main characters, Eliot and Cal, have controlling parents that don’t approve of their relationship, but they make it work. They end up separating from their controlling parents, so they can live the life they want to.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2023
Cal is a 15 year old girl with a flighty mother who moves at a moments notice, following renaissance faires across the country to sell her Jewelry. Their entire life must fit into the back of their car, which leaves little room for Cal to become attached to anything, items, places or people.
Eliot is a 15 year old boy who's father, that he calls "The Dad" is a charismatic salesman whos most recent venture is a weight loss camp for Christians. It is obvious he cares more about his image and money than his family. However this leaves Eliot able to work on his (illegal) passion of building fireworks.
Eliot and Cal meet when Cals mom, Delores, moves them to North Carolina for another Ren Faire and bond over challenges they face and find family within each other, even when their own is lacking.
A softer take on innocent, young and somewhat disapproved of love. This YA romance novel is perfect for the reader who likes a simple love story without the super adult challenges that usually plague these types of novels.
Eliot is a 15 year old boy who's father, that he calls "The Dad" is a charismatic salesman whos most recent venture is a weight loss camp for Christians. It is obvious he cares more about his image and money than his family. However this leaves Eliot able to work on his (illegal) passion of building fireworks.
Eliot and Cal meet when Cals mom, Delores, moves them to North Carolina for another Ren Faire and bond over challenges they face and find family within each other, even when their own is lacking.
A softer take on innocent, young and somewhat disapproved of love. This YA romance novel is perfect for the reader who likes a simple love story without the super adult challenges that usually plague these types of novels.
October 5, 2018
I can't say I'm dissapointed because I didn't pick up this book expecting a lot. The only reason I decided to read this book was because I thought the title was funny and I wanted to fingure out why the author chose that title. As it turns out it wasn't a very clever title. At fisrt I really liked the book, the characters were cute and all that. But then I noticed how the entire book is based on this Christian fat camp for overweight teens. I didn't notice anything wrong with this at first but then I started noticing that all the main characters, who were all fit, just used the word 'fat' a lot. Like A LOT. It started to annoy me after a while and I just couldn't enjoy the book. There were moments I liked and I'm glad for the happy ending, but overall I am unimpressed.
August 30, 2017
This book could have been so much better than it was. I thought that it was romance about two people at an extremely religious fatcamp, which would have been interesting. But no. It's about two bland fifteen year olds with cartoonishly shitty parents. The instalove wasn't as annoying as how bad these parents are, and how quickly these issues are resolved at the end, even though legally it would be an actual nightmare to do what these parents did to their kids, lbr. It's not the worst thing ever, but there are better fluffy YA novels to read.
Currently reading
July 17, 2022Alternating between the teenaged girl and boy's perspectives, I laughed at the description of Eliot's father running a religious theme camp called "Get Thin with Christ!" before creating the cookbook "WWHE, What Would Jesus Eat?" Although Eliot questions whether or not Jesus would eat salmon with capers, a yogurt-based dill sauce, arugula salad, and a sugar-free mini-cheesecake, his father creates a successful business with the unique franchise.
January 18, 2025
Does this book deserve five stars?? Absolutely not. HOWEVER, this was one of my favorite books ever as a middle schooler and it was very nostalgic to read it again through adult eyes. The teens fell in love too fast, very unrealistic timeline, unrealistic responsibilities on 15 year olds, but I loved it. I am also a camp director now so it was funny to have that lens now (even though I vehemently disagree with the book’s camp concept). Eliot’s mom was my new favorite character.
Read
April 21, 2020More YA. A nice young love story; from an adult standpoint you may think "Ok, 15, maybe not forever," but then again, maybe it's a love everlasting, and it was nice to read a relatively non-cynical novel. The barrier to their love is the parents, of course, both of whom have fascinating careers: her mom is a serving wench at the Ren Faire, and his dad runs a Jesus-focused fat camp.
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