Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks (Playaway Children) [Preloaded Digital Audio Player]

Lauren Myracle (Author), Tk (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2009 | Series: Playaway Children

Wealth, privilege, and way too many pastel-tinted opinions . . . that’s Carly’s life. And guess what? It’s. Getting. On. Her. Nerves. Carly wants to be real, and she’s always counted on her little sister, Anna, to love her and support her — and tell her how right she is. But when Anna turns “hot” over the course of a single summer, everything goes weird. Suddenly Anna’s swimming in the deep end with the big girls — the plastic-perfect-pretty girls — while Carly watches, hurt, from the kiddie pool. And of course there are boys involved, complicating things as boys always do. With warmth, insight, and an unparalleled gift for finding humor even in stormy situations, beloved author Lauren Myracle dives into the tumultuous waters of sisterhood and shows that even very different sisters can learn to help each other stay afloat.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8–10—This paean to sisters is flat-out wonderful, full of emotion and bittersweet teenage confusion. It tackles faith, racism, sexism, and the tug-of-war close siblings can engage in while establishing their identity. Free-spirited sophomore Carly reacts against the consumerism of the girls' upscale Atlanta neighborhood while she enjoys what it has to offer. Freshman Anna relies on Carly at their prestigious private school, Holy Redeemer. She has developed large breasts that grant her unwanted attention. Carly helps her sister to face down a bullying coach, and the girls support each other against their über-critical father. Everyone but Carly can see that dependable Roger could be her "love boodle," but she has a crush on Cole, who has "soulful eyes." A sleepover when the girls' parents are away develops into an out-of-control party, and the sisters' trust in one another frays when Carla finds Anna with Cole. Ultimately, however, their bond strengthens. Language is realistic with some swearing. These are girls with hot tempers, bruised egos, and great love for one another. Readers will love them, too.—Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Fifteen-year-old Carly has a problem—two, actually: her younger sister Anna’s new “real live Hooters-esque boobs.” While Carly was away getting self-actualized at a back-to-nature camp, Anna was busy turning into a hottie, a state that makes “granola-girl” Carly uncomfortably jealous. Now back in her privileged Atlanta suburb, Carly is struggling with feelings of insecurity as she tries to reconcile her newly acquired bohemian belief system with the incredible wealth in which she has been raised. In addition, her crush hardly notices her, she feels trapped between her rival best friends, and her parents seem to be growing more distant with each other by the day. Writing for an older teen audience, Myracle empathetically explores issues of socioeconomic class, sibling rivalry, and parental influence in a story that is deeper and more nuanced than the title and cutesy cover, dotted with rubber ducks and a peace sign, imply. A must-read for fans of Sarah Dessen and Justina Chen Headley. Grades 8-12. --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Preloaded Digital Audio Player
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio (August 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441803025
• ISBN-13: 978-1441803023
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,047,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lauren Myracle is the author of many popular books for teens and tweens, including New York Times bestsellers ttyl and ttfn (Abrams). She lives with her family in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paddle and Persevere, November 18, 2009

By 

Little Willow (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks (Hardcover)

After spending the summer working a labor-intensive job in Tennessee with the Student Conservation Association, fifteen-year-old Carly comes back to her home in Atlanta with a new perspective on life, her priorities, and the future. Her work outdoors strengthened her body and her mind, and gave her a new appreciation for the world outside of her wealthy town and her prestigious Christian prep school.

Carly and her younger sister Anna have always been thick as thieves. They are only one grade apart. Carly's looking forward to the new school year because Anna will be joining her on the high school campus. Anna clearly looks up to Carly, and Carly looks out for Anna. Carly even waited to take P.E. so that she could be in the same gym class as her baby sister.

But when Carly returns from her summer away, she finds that her sister has grown up, not in height or emotional or mental maturity so much as in curves. Even though she's barely a freshman, Anna suddenly looks like the older sister. On the very first day of school, Anna gets hit on by a number of boys, one of whom pulls a stunt which accidentally gets her in trouble with the headmaster - and Carly's the one who gets her out of it. She wonders what will happen on the day that she can't bail Anna out . . . and she worries that soon, Anna will outgrow her.

Carly is a great narrator. She has strength of conviction and a good moral compass. Myracle's trademark tell-it-like-it-is writing serves her well. Carly doesn't stand for it when people are rude to her or her sister, and she knows how to handle things when adults are condescending or try to pull the wool over her eyes. Myracle infuses her story with realism, especially when Carly considers and confronts some of the unfair stereotypes in her school and community. Carly knows she lives a privileged life, but unlike the equally rich characters in so many books these days, it makes her uncomfortable. What makes Anna uncomfortable is her changing body, but instead of dressing provocatively and slathering on makeup or going in the opposite direction and covering up in layers, she just keeps wearing her usual clothes, which are pretty mainstream-modest. Though their parents are well-off, neither Carly nor Anna are materialistic. While Carly puts on jeans and tie-dyed shirts, her mother is always impeccably dressed in brand-name clothing. When given the opportunity to go on a shopping spree, the girls leave their mother in Neiman's, drooling over Armani, to get some jeans and corny screen-print tops in Urban Outfitters, and Carly gets Anna to put some things back rather than overspend. Carly would rather listen to Cat Stevens than Top 40 radio, and she finds herself rather smitten by the new guitar-playing boy in school.

Each character has a clear voice and personality. Cole, Carly's crush, plays it cool - and he obviously knows that he's cool. Carly's buddy Roger, who moved to America from Holland the year before, is considerate and well-mannered. Carly's preppy friend Peyton is chatty and opinionated. Their classmate Vonzelle keeps her chin up, even when others look down on her because she's a scholarship student. Carly is bold and bossy while Anna is tentative and sensitive.

When confronted with something difficult, the siblings remind each other to "paddle harder" to get through it or get over it altogether. This sisterly in-joke is based on something their father said to Anna when she was four years old and scared to swim on her own without her duck-shaped float. Their father, the proud owner of both a BMW and a Jaguar, berates the girls on a regular basis. While he is never physically abusive, and though he is nowhere near as horrible as Terra's father in North of Beautiful, a fantastic book about self-acceptance by Justina Chen Headley, his put-downs really pain his daughters, especially Anna. Meanwhile, their mother makes pointed remarks about Anna's food intake and figure. When Carly calls her mother on her commentary, readers will cheer. In fact, readers will cheer at many points in this story, but I don't want to give too much away.

The book is split into three sections, with each given a portion of the title: first comes Peace, then Love, and finally, Baby Ducks. Each chapter is also given a title indictative of the events which occur in those pages. These breaks in chapters and sections are not at all distracting nor interruptive; the story flows right along from the first page to the last, and readers will keep turning those pages to find out what happens next.

The bond between the sisters is strong, so even when the current pulls them apart, they drift back together again. They sound and act like real sisters. They don't always get along, and they say things to each other that they regret later, if not immediately. Carly knows it's good to be yourself, rather than go along with what everyone else is doing, and Anna learns that, too, in her own way. Yes, it can be hard to swim against the current, but it's so worth it - so speak up, stand out, and, if you make a mistake or mess up, try again.

Myracle has written a variety of novels for kids, tweens, and teens. If you've read and enjoyed her books about a girl named Winnie (Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen) but are now a little older, then you will like Peace, Love & Baby Ducks, which is also a little older and a little bolder.

After you've read Carly's story, you'll most likely hope that Myracle writes a book from Anna's perspective. In the meantime, you should definitely pick up The Year My Sister Got Lucky by Aimee Friedman, in which a family's move from city to country changes the dynamic between two sisters. While Peace, Love & Baby Ducks is narrated by the older sister, The Year My Sister Got Lucky is told from the point of view of the younger sister, and both deal with young women reconsidering their lifestyles and priorities. Thus, the two books compliment each other quite well. Also check out The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson, in which three sisters deal with the death of their father in very different ways.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Serendipity Book Reviews, July 14, 2009

By 

Serendipity Book Reviews (Henderson, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks (Hardcover)

This was actually a very good summer read. Carly, the main character, was multi-layered, there was the right amount of characters, *some* of the characters were also well developed, and I really liked some of the plot. It was really funny sometimes, and it was so absolutely believable! I loved the focus on sisterhood and friendship, too. But when it came to the romantic part of this book, I really wasn't impressed (more on that in a second)... :(

I did have a lot of problems with this book, though- like, when Carly first saw Cole at Holy Roller, the private high school she and her friend Peyton attend, and where Carly's sister Anna will be starting her freshman year- the cliches that arose made me so mad! "Head over heels"? "Falling and hard?" Inane stuff like that.

And as for the characters, they often came off the wrong way. I really liked Vonzelle- she was sweet and a good friend, funny and honest. But Anna? Anna was more like a spoiled baby. I really didn't like her throughout the whole book. And Carly, though she was supposed to seem real and different, beyond all the poor-little-rich-girl problems (another thing I had issues with!)- like, she loved disco, she wore stuff like dashikis, she laughed at people who weren't so extremely different like her. She just seemed like she was trying too hard to be different, and it was really annoyingly hypocritical when you think about her behavior throughout the book...

I also wish Roger would have been more developed. He was hardly in there, and he was REALLY important!

But overall, it was an original, goofy read that really showed perfectly the dynamics of sisterhood. A great summer read.

-Meggin

[...]

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harmony Book Reviews, May 31, 2009

By 

Harmony Book Reviews "Harmony" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks (Hardcover)

The last time I read any of Lauren Myracle's writing was in the Let it Snow anthology and I wasn't all that impressed with her writing style. But when I saw the cover of Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks, I decided it was time that I give her writing another chance. It's a good thing I did because this is one of the funniest books I've read in a while.

It opens with a letter between the two sisters. This is your first look into their relationship and you can tell how close they are. But, as the summary itself states and anyone who has a sister would know, things change as you get older and sometimes a summer seems like so much longer. This is where the drama begins unfolding.

Carly is probably my all-time favorite realistic character right now. I love her whole twenty-first century "hippie" vibe and almost wish I could pull off her style myself. The way she handles everything - from the way her parents act to her crazy hair style to the drama with her sister - is realistic. Anna was a little bit harder for me to relate to but she was also a fun character to read about.

Sibling drama is a very touchy territory to write about - siblings do tend to fight over little things but it's extremely easy to go overboard with the fights. Luckily, Myracle must have some expertise in this area because she wrote everything perfectly. The fights aren't petty and annoying - they're realistic and fit in well with the plot.

Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks definitely restored my faith in Myracle. I look forward to her upcoming books and recommend this to everyone.

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