Sunny Side Up

by Marion Roberts

Start with one quiet, perfect life.

Add: Mum’s new boyfriend, his two kids, one best friend (with a big crush), one sworn enemy, and a long-lost grandmother.

Flavor with a dash of laughter, a pinch of jealousy, and plenty of secrets.
Cook on high all summer long. . . .

Eleven-year-old Sunny (short for Sunday) is an only child, an introvert, a dog lover, and part owner of Pizza-a-Go-Girl. She and her mum live near the beach in Australia. Good thing, because this summer is one long heat wave. But the temperature isn’t the only thing that’s making Sunny hot: her perfect life is about to change in a million ways!

Marion Roberts has worked as a chef and taught people how to cook, but started writing because she wanted a job she could do in her pajamas. Sunny Side Up is her first novel. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Genres: Childrens, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Marion Roberts always wanted to be a fashion designer, but she studied science, alternative medicine, psychotherapy, and psychology instead. She also worked as a chef and taught people how to cook.

Marion started writing because she wanted a job she could do in her pajamas. Also, her friends kept saying her emails were too long, and she needed to find another place to put her stories.

She was born in Melbourne, which has always been her hometown. Marion's first book featuring the irrepressible Sunny Hathaway, Sunny Side Up, was published in 2008. Her latest book is the YA psychological thriller, Cry Blue Murder.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn in by Sunny's quick wit and observations on the unexpected turn in her life as her mother considers re-marriage to a guy with two kids thus ending Sunny's center-of-the-universe status; but my sympathy began to falter as Sunny began sounding just whiny.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

i finally finished. this book represents so many emotions. it is a funny book at times but other times it can be sad. i really liked it. i recommend this book to all of you because it is amazing.

[Carol Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marion Roberts is Australian, so temperatures are in Celsius, and name places, names, and phraseology is sometimes unique for American readers. This story seems to have a plethora of subplots, but no major conflict to wrap your head around. The main character, Sunny, is 11 years old. Her best friend, Claud, seems to be maturing sooner, so there is some stress on their friendship in that way. They have a pizza business, which is one thing several subplots wrap around. Buster Conroy is a pretty dynamic character. He seems like a "bad" kid when he's introduced. Then you begin to understand his motivation. By the end, there is a whole turn-around on him. I didn't really care because I didn't get to know him well enough to care. Sunny's mom makes her promise to never talk to Grandma Carmelina; so, of course, she just has to go see Grandma. They get to like each other, but Grandma is a pretty flat character also. There is the conflict between Sunny's greyound, Wilson, and Mom's boyfriend's cat, Boris, when Carl (boyfriend) moves in with his 2 children. There is the internal conflict Sunny feels about holding secrets for everybody, then keeping some secrets of her own. This is just a sample of the subplots in this story. See what I mean? I can't tell you that any one guides the story more than others.

[Molly (Conan the Librarian) Crumbley · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when your perfect life turns upside down? That’s what preteen Sunny (short for Sunday) Hathaway has to figure out when she finds herself in a state of upheaval one fateful summer. Sunny, a self-described introvert, only child, and entrepreneur, does not cope well with change, and she’s certainly getting more than her share lately.

All of a sudden, her peaceful Australian beachside existence is disrupted by a series of anxiety-inducing events: her mother’s boyfriend and his children are moving in, her father and step-mother are welcoming a new baby, her best friend Claud is suddenly skipping out on their pizza business (Pizza A Go Girl) to hang out with a no-good boy, and her long-estranged grandmother Carmelene has contacted her and wants to meet.

What’s a girl to do? In Sunny’s case, she learns to roll with it. Marion Roberts offers up a charming tale of family and forgiveness in her debut novel, and fans of the Georgia Nicholson series will likely to enjoy cheery Sunny too.

This review originally appeared on abookandahug.com

[Tanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I knew how to give half points, I would have given this book a 3.5. Why not a 4? Maybe because I found some of the things happening and the way how the problems are solved eventually not too convincing - but hey, the setting is Australia - maybe I just don't know enough about life down under! I definitely enjoyed meeting bright and funny eleven-year old Sunny who tries to navigate through a complicated phase in her young life: her mum wants her partner and his children to move in with them, her dad and his new wife are expecting a baby, Sunny secretly meets her grandmother against her mum's will, her best friend seems to ditch her to spend time with a boy, just to mention a few. Too many secrets, too many lies to handle - or not?

[Jeannine · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 9 year old daughter read this and recommended it to me. Sunny finds herself amidst many changes in her family and friendships, all seemingly out of her control. As my daughter is also dealing with friendship changes typical of grade school girls, this book was a great starting point to discuss what's happening in her life. I enjoyed a fresh voice from a new author, and I look forward to Marion Robert's next book.

[Bayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was awful. The narrative was so broken and uninteresting that I just stopped caring after the first ten pages and skimmed the rest. I doubt this would be even interesting to young readers--if they even understood some of the jokes. I doubt many of the target audience even know what a tangent is. A big fat thumbs down from me.

[CuriousLibrarian]

I am abandoning this one after 41 pages. Nothing is grabbing me as interesting, and very little has happened. I don't think I'll be adding this title to the library collection.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book to read! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book to read! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Kirstie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another great easy read and the type of book that I like to read!!!!!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really nice book - I enjoyed it immensely! It's really cute in many ways (Willow is so funny) - I recommend it to people who enjoy reading bittersweet, slow-paced stories about life.

[Annabel Blizzard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this years ago.

[Roma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this little story

[Bless · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish it, I just got bored. Buy that was a while ago.

[Alyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe more of a three-and-a-halfer, but I enjoyed it. See http://www.eatreadandbemommy.com/2016... for more!

[Emily Lawes]

Had to read this for school

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute summer read.