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Tune in Anytime
Intrigue. Suspense. Romance. Evil schemers, innocent victims, and true love. Is it a TV soap opera? Not exactly. It’s what’s happening to 16-year-old Sophie Olivette when her father announces he wants out of his marriage and has found a new true love. And where is Sophie’s mother? She is seeking “inner harmony,” and doesn’t seem to notice that the family is falling apart. As for Sophie’s older sister, her anger adds drama, but doesn’t help. Only her classmate Ted seems a solid, reasonable, and even good-looking person in the midst of the mess around her. How do you fast forward to the final episode–and can it possibly end happily ever after?
186 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Caroline B. Cooney
132 books1,802 followersCaroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 7, 2016
It's OK, but just too...ordinary, even too...clichéd to be a Caroline B. Cooney.
February 27, 2015
Plot:
Tune in anytime is a realistic and fictional book by Caroline B. Cooney. The book has a very interesting view on one girl, Sophie's, life as she finds out that her parents are getting divorced, and her family soon starts to fall apart. Sophie is just a typical sixteen-year-old girl unsure of herself when she receives the news that her dad is getting remarried. That news drove her crazy. Her mother had to know. After all, her parents were still married.
In the beginning, Sophie seems to be an innocent teenager spending time with friends until her dad shows up at her bedroom door. She was so happy until he actually told her what he wanted to talk about. After all, the woman he was about to marry wasn't much older than her. It was her sister's college roommate. She was not happy. In fact, she wanted to kill them both...at least for a little while.
While things were okay for Sophie's mother, they were not okay for her. Then she finally got involved with a passion of her mother's. In fact, she started falling in love with Ted Larkman because of it. She even went to her mother's silly solstice party. Sophie and Ted spent so much time together, and he was helping her to be so happy. She was finally okay for a while too.
Sophie goes through a lot with the divorce and the remarriage, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. It only brought her closer to her mother-especially when her mother nearly destroyed the tower of their house with a bulldozer. That really helped. Sophie was proud. Her mother was finally angry and there. She's needed her mother so much and her mother was never really there. Now her mother is, and she can finally have her true happily ever after. Her mother, she and Ted Larkman's family.
Characterization:
Ted Larkman's character changes throughout the story. At first, he was just trying to enlighten Mrs. Olivette. After all, she was Sophie's mother. Maybe her craziness would subside, right? It was easy until Sophie started showing up. That was where he was unsure of himself. He didn't think it could be any weirder for him, but it was because he liked her and eventually, they began to hang out more too. He didn't realize that he'd fall in love with her or that she would soon feel the same. Later in the story, as Ted begins to know Sophie more, he becomes more to her and she to him. He knows what goes on with her, and she tells him a lot. She trusts him and confides in him. Ted is okay with that, but he is not okay with her wanting to bulldoze the tower on her house. He doesn't want her in trouble. He is so stubborn about it that they stop talking for a while, but once the solstice chaos occurs, he is ready to apologize and see her smile again. He finally realizes that his only happily ever after is with her. The solstice gave him the perfect opportunity.
Audience:
This book would be appropriate for more mature audiences who have an interest in seeing the world and life from another perspective. Readers of either gender could appreciate this novel, but it would likely be preferred more by females in the teenage range. The topics in this book include possible insanity, kissing and romance, violence and divorce. The story has some crazy events, but that is why younger readers may not be able to handle it so well. Mature readers should be able to handle it.
Personal Response:
I gave this book a four out of the five stars. I enjoyed the crazy plot and all the turning points, so it is understandable why it is still popular today. The further a reader gets into this story, the more they want to read. I hold this book with high regard. It has given me another perspective on life, and I greatly appreciate the writing style of its author Caroline B. Cooney. I recommend this book for readers like myself who are interested in getting a glimpse of a new perspective and a different view on life.
Tune in anytime is a realistic and fictional book by Caroline B. Cooney. The book has a very interesting view on one girl, Sophie's, life as she finds out that her parents are getting divorced, and her family soon starts to fall apart. Sophie is just a typical sixteen-year-old girl unsure of herself when she receives the news that her dad is getting remarried. That news drove her crazy. Her mother had to know. After all, her parents were still married.
In the beginning, Sophie seems to be an innocent teenager spending time with friends until her dad shows up at her bedroom door. She was so happy until he actually told her what he wanted to talk about. After all, the woman he was about to marry wasn't much older than her. It was her sister's college roommate. She was not happy. In fact, she wanted to kill them both...at least for a little while.
While things were okay for Sophie's mother, they were not okay for her. Then she finally got involved with a passion of her mother's. In fact, she started falling in love with Ted Larkman because of it. She even went to her mother's silly solstice party. Sophie and Ted spent so much time together, and he was helping her to be so happy. She was finally okay for a while too.
Sophie goes through a lot with the divorce and the remarriage, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. It only brought her closer to her mother-especially when her mother nearly destroyed the tower of their house with a bulldozer. That really helped. Sophie was proud. Her mother was finally angry and there. She's needed her mother so much and her mother was never really there. Now her mother is, and she can finally have her true happily ever after. Her mother, she and Ted Larkman's family.
Characterization:
Ted Larkman's character changes throughout the story. At first, he was just trying to enlighten Mrs. Olivette. After all, she was Sophie's mother. Maybe her craziness would subside, right? It was easy until Sophie started showing up. That was where he was unsure of himself. He didn't think it could be any weirder for him, but it was because he liked her and eventually, they began to hang out more too. He didn't realize that he'd fall in love with her or that she would soon feel the same. Later in the story, as Ted begins to know Sophie more, he becomes more to her and she to him. He knows what goes on with her, and she tells him a lot. She trusts him and confides in him. Ted is okay with that, but he is not okay with her wanting to bulldoze the tower on her house. He doesn't want her in trouble. He is so stubborn about it that they stop talking for a while, but once the solstice chaos occurs, he is ready to apologize and see her smile again. He finally realizes that his only happily ever after is with her. The solstice gave him the perfect opportunity.
Audience:
This book would be appropriate for more mature audiences who have an interest in seeing the world and life from another perspective. Readers of either gender could appreciate this novel, but it would likely be preferred more by females in the teenage range. The topics in this book include possible insanity, kissing and romance, violence and divorce. The story has some crazy events, but that is why younger readers may not be able to handle it so well. Mature readers should be able to handle it.
Personal Response:
I gave this book a four out of the five stars. I enjoyed the crazy plot and all the turning points, so it is understandable why it is still popular today. The further a reader gets into this story, the more they want to read. I hold this book with high regard. It has given me another perspective on life, and I greatly appreciate the writing style of its author Caroline B. Cooney. I recommend this book for readers like myself who are interested in getting a glimpse of a new perspective and a different view on life.
October 30, 2020
This was just as cute and dramatic as remember and I could not be any happier. Ted and Sophie are such couple goals.
Sophie wants a normal family life, not a dramatic family that’s getting deformed by divorce due to her mother wanting to find her inner self and her father despising it and falling in love with her older sisters college roommate.
Ted just wonders how his family has got caught up in Sophie and her family’s drama, but he soon realizes he cares for her.
Sophie wants a normal family life, not a dramatic family that’s getting deformed by divorce due to her mother wanting to find her inner self and her father despising it and falling in love with her older sisters college roommate.
Ted just wonders how his family has got caught up in Sophie and her family’s drama, but he soon realizes he cares for her.
April 22, 2018
I have loved this sad yet zany story for several years now. Caroline Cooney's descriptions of her characters really get you into thier thoughts and feelings.
Sophie's parents are getting divorced. That horrible dividing V that sends a family two ways. Not only that, but her Parent Formerly Known as Dad is whisking her sister's college roommate off to Paris as his new bride after depositing his family in an "apartment with reasonable rent". Then there is Ted Larkman. The solid neighbor whose family holds up the Olivette women. Throw in a bulldozer, a screaming sister, a boy who could not be casual, and the winter solstice and you have the fixings for a major soap opera. Nice girls need not apply.
Review from other edition:
For some reason, I love this bitter sweet story. Sophie's heartbreak over her fractured family, solace and envy of Teddy's whole one. First love, friendship in hard times. The courage to get back up when you've been knocked down, and a menacing bulldozer you'd like to drive. Sophie's description of the " terrible V in divorce" that requires her to rearrange her world, and the really big rock that brings them all together, No. 5. Also, that favorite line from Teddy's dad: "your mother makes all holiday decisions--even holidays that I don't know about". Yes, the holiday is the Winter Solstice. Yes, that's in the story too. Their lives unfold as if it was a soap opera, but this is real.
Sophie's parents are getting divorced. That horrible dividing V that sends a family two ways. Not only that, but her Parent Formerly Known as Dad is whisking her sister's college roommate off to Paris as his new bride after depositing his family in an "apartment with reasonable rent". Then there is Ted Larkman. The solid neighbor whose family holds up the Olivette women. Throw in a bulldozer, a screaming sister, a boy who could not be casual, and the winter solstice and you have the fixings for a major soap opera. Nice girls need not apply.
Review from other edition:
For some reason, I love this bitter sweet story. Sophie's heartbreak over her fractured family, solace and envy of Teddy's whole one. First love, friendship in hard times. The courage to get back up when you've been knocked down, and a menacing bulldozer you'd like to drive. Sophie's description of the " terrible V in divorce" that requires her to rearrange her world, and the really big rock that brings them all together, No. 5. Also, that favorite line from Teddy's dad: "your mother makes all holiday decisions--even holidays that I don't know about". Yes, the holiday is the Winter Solstice. Yes, that's in the story too. Their lives unfold as if it was a soap opera, but this is real.
January 25, 2010
This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for years and I've never noticed it. One day I picked it up and read the back of the book and it sounded interesting. This book is sort of like a soap opera show.I enjoy watching soap opera shows so i thought this book would be a good choice. Tune In Anytime is a hilarious look at divorce, despite how the plot line sounds. It is about a girl named Sohpie whose father marries her older sister's college roommate.Sophie learns that although sometimes your family can let you down, you can get through it with the help of your friends and a really cute boy. I would suggest this book to anyone who needs something to read. It really shows how some peoples lives are.
August 6, 2018
Pathetic parents, one smart but desperate daughter; told with much humor. Divorce IS trauma to children and God's way is commitment.
January 16, 2016
Sophie is a young girl who has two incredibly self-centered parents. Her father, a professor, falls in love with a student and decides to get married to her. Her mother is going from fad to fad, presently being on a New Age-type fad. Both parents basically fail to listen to Sophie and don't bother to take her interests to heart at all.
Her father plans to move away, and her mother doesn't really put up any kind of a legal fight at all, being willing to give up the house they live in and not even fight for her share of their common property.
Meanwhile, Sophie is trying to figure out what to do and meets a nice boy named Ted. They end up being attracted to each other.
Sophie also develops an interesting plan to try to save their marriage or to punish their parents. Destroy the house they currently live in, or at least one particular part of the house. What does she need to do that? A 50-ton bulldozer that she learns to drive courtesy of her boyfriends very understanding father.
It's a really neat story, rather humorous with the bulldozer bit. An enjoyable read.
Her father plans to move away, and her mother doesn't really put up any kind of a legal fight at all, being willing to give up the house they live in and not even fight for her share of their common property.
Meanwhile, Sophie is trying to figure out what to do and meets a nice boy named Ted. They end up being attracted to each other.
Sophie also develops an interesting plan to try to save their marriage or to punish their parents. Destroy the house they currently live in, or at least one particular part of the house. What does she need to do that? A 50-ton bulldozer that she learns to drive courtesy of her boyfriends very understanding father.
It's a really neat story, rather humorous with the bulldozer bit. An enjoyable read.
June 27, 2022
A fun read that is sad at the same time. Sophie feels like her life has become a soap opera. Her parents are going to get a divorce. She feels powerless. Then she becomes closer friends with Ted who owns a bulldozer…
June 5, 2023
final review: 4 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
cliché, but pretty cute.
it’s a day read for sure.
basic and somewhat flat, but in short novellas, that’s okay.
the only reason i picked this book up from my closet is because i misplaced my main book. eh. pretty good.
cliché, but pretty cute.
it’s a day read for sure.
basic and somewhat flat, but in short novellas, that’s okay.
the only reason i picked this book up from my closet is because i misplaced my main book. eh. pretty good.
January 19, 2020
Interesting story! Don’t discount the young adult reads!
March 21, 2022
Sophie's parents are getting a divorce. Her father is looking for a re-run of his youth, and her mother is in her own world. Sophie's woes are exacerbated by her age, but I liked this book.
October 9, 2025
This book was okay. It had a lot of detail, but was somewhat boring. I did like it nonetheless.
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September 8, 2026You can read my full review here.
October 29, 2026
The vibe was completely off for the first few chapters of Tune in Anytime, like a joke told by someone who forgot the punchline. Then Cooney, Caroline B. finds the rhythm and the whole thing clicks into gear. Stick with it if you've got a little patience, and bail early if you don't.
November 18, 2016
The book Tune in anytime by Caroline B. Cooney, was a bit boring fiction book for me. I enjoyed some of the aspects in the book.It shows how the two sisters, Sophie Olivetti and Marley Olivetti were determine to stop their family from splitting apart by divorce and reunite the family.I think some could enjoy this book like I did because it teaches to have meta-cognition before we decide or want to do something. For example, the college student Marley reminded her dad to think about his new wife, Persia's college accomplishment before he marry her which made him to be embarrassed about his deed.I would recommend this book for some one who doesn't have a good relationship with their family to be firm for resolution or just try their best in order to have self comfort not overstressed
February 12, 2013
Caroline Cooney writes a fun book. I have yet to be disappointed by anything she writes. There's no deep meaning of life in her books, but that's okay. Sometimes we just need to read to be entertained and escape from life for a while. In Tune in Anytime, Cooney spoofs the soap opera genre, creating a soap that stars Sophie Olivette, a 16 year old who just found out her parents are getting divorced. The book begins with Mr. Olivette announcing that he his marrying Persis, Sophie's sister's college roommate. To which Sophie reminds her father that he is still married to Sophie's mom. In between chapters, Cooney writes about the conventions of the soap opera genre. Instead of this book being a heavy, dramatic novel, it's comical and fun.
June 4, 2014
Sophie, a sixteen-year-old, has just been told by her father, who she adored and thought she knew, that he is going to marry his older daughter's college roommate, before he even tells his wife.
The book is divided into chapters separated by comparisons between her life and a fictitious soap opera.
Sophie and her sister are trying to stop their father's madness, while their mother is out trying to find herself and doesn't seem to grasp what is happening to her family and doesn't fight for anything in the soon to be divorce.
The book is divided into chapters separated by comparisons between her life and a fictitious soap opera.
Sophie and her sister are trying to stop their father's madness, while their mother is out trying to find herself and doesn't seem to grasp what is happening to her family and doesn't fight for anything in the soon to be divorce.
March 5, 2008
A book about a teen that has family drama. Dad started a relationship with one of his daughter's roommates from college.....this is the start of the soap opera in this young teen girls life. There was a lot feelings I could relate to - especially because of my family background. Caroline Cooney is always a good choice in authors for young teens. (It doesn't hurt that she is a Christian either.)
October 25, 2010
Very impressive though it took me a month to get past the first couple of chapters. More from stress over my lately resolved crisis then the writing, but I am now very glad I did not just give up on it. Well written and wonderfully sarcastic, clean and funny. Everything one needs to get over a bump in the road or as a companion when you just want to stay in bed. I was right there cheering with Edith and the bulldozer... don't worry- you just have to be there.
July 14, 2008
A completely unrealistic story of divorce. As I remember, there were a lot of corny and unexplained emotions. Even without that aspect, the book was SO predictable and annoying. Especially when Ted conveniently pops up and understands her. LAME.
October 19, 2008
I loved it. It was tragedy with lots of irony and humor.
March 23, 2010
it was pretty good. funny.
April 9, 2010
The worst book i have ever read.! yuppies not a goood read..!!!
July 23, 2011
Liked this when I was younger
October 8, 2015
I didnt care for the story line.
September 23, 2016
i thought it would be something different than i expected
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews