Sophie Pitt-Turnbull Discovers America (Reading Together) [Hardcover]

Dyan Sheldon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Reading Together | Publication Date: April 12, 2005

Things turn out rather different from what she expected when Sophie Pitt-Turnbull takes a trip across the pond in this droll new novel by the author of CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN.


The summer her mother announces that they won't be taking their traditional holiday in France, sixteen-year-old Sophie Pitt-Turnbull is aghast and devastated. How can she possibly stay in London when all her friends are going away? The prospect is so ghastly that when Jacqueline Salamanca, Mummy's old art-school chum in New York, suggests they trade daughters for the summer, Sophie — with visions of a loft in SoHo, weekends in the Hamptons, and shopping on Fifth Avenue — feels her prayers have been answered. Unfortunately, there are a few small details that Mummy's neglected to tell her.

Get ready for a comical case of culture clash when one haughty British teen winds up deep in the heart of working-class Brooklyn, cooped up in a chaotic household with two rowdy charges, an ill-trained cat, and an insatiably hungry pet pig. Dyan Sheldon is in her element with this outrageously funny tale of an uptight young girl who is forced to get over her preconceptions — and dares to have herself a full-hearted adventure that's worth writing home about. Complete with a glossary of Britishisms in the back!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10–When Sophie finds out there will be no summer holidays in France this year, she is "aghast." Her mother arranges for her to trade places with the daughter of an art-school chum in New York, so she may yet save her summer. However, a sweltering wait at the airport and a harrowing van ride to Brooklyn–rather than Manhattan–leave the British teen's conquest of the New World a bit limp. Forced to endure tofu, messy living conditions, and childcare duties, she must come to terms with her so-called holiday. Some laughs ensue as Sophie deals with the family's oddities, including a marauding pet pig and an iguana-liberating nine-year-old. Eventually, her whining stops and she values her new friends and embraces her experience, illustrating the expected redemptive theme. Her attitude change from annoyed disdain to willing enjoyment seems a bit unexplained, with plot elements insufficient to convey such a dramatic change of heart. Nonetheless, readers may appreciate the nicely crafted language. Those who clamor for Louise Rennison won't find Sophie's transfiguration as much fun as Georgia Nicholson's trippingly amusing British teen romp. While this tale is not as endearing as Sheldon's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (Candlewick, 1999), it still makes a decent read–so long as one isn't a highly sensitive Brooklynite.–Suzanne Gordon, Richards Middle School, Lawrenceville, GA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. "America has a lot of drive-by shootings and psychopaths," Mummy warns before the teenager Sophie leaves London to spend the summer caring for two kids in Brooklyn. Sophie would prefer to be eating caviar on the patio of her family's summer villa in France, but, instead, she's in a cramped, decrepit house in a run-down American neighborhood. She's not prejudiced--but, after all, Americans don't use cutlery, and they think that England is mostly the Queen, the Beatles, and the Spice Girls. Sheldon is a Brooklyn native who now lives in London, and she has lots of fun with the mutual stereotypes and prejudices, not only those about nationality but also ones about race and class. The hilarious and sometimes unpleasant misunderstandings continue, until Sophie finally discovers the real America and finds her connection with those whom she has previously despised. Of course, she still longs for a proper cup of tea. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (April 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763627402
• ISBN-13: 978-0763627409
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #626,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute, June 15, 2005

By 

Tina "Tina" (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sophie Pitt-Turnbull Discovers America (Reading Together) (Hardcover)

I am an adult who loves reading teen books.

This one is good. The story of a young british girl who goes to New York for the summer. She gets the surprise of her life when she gets there.

While this book is not a hard hitting one (no drugs, sex, etc.) it is written with lots of humour and explores what happens when we have pre-conceived ideas of a person just by looking at their surroundings.

Sophie ends up learning some valuable lessons which, thanks to the authors, wonderful writing never makes us feel as though we have to preached to.

This book is a nice entry into the teen books. Buy it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Eh, not bad, but not a favorite., April 23, 2007

By 

Anne-Marie Gilliland (Near D.C., USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sophie Pitt-Turnbull Discovers America (Paperback)

Not a bad book, I just wasn't gripped by it. Sophie, upset that she can't have her summer in France leaps at the opportunity to spend it in New York--but she expects the super posh New York city. What she gets is a messy 'artist' with two lunatic children that she has to watch. She sort of learns a lesson by the end, but it took her a long time....and I wasn't that interested in the other characters.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining read full of humor and quirky characters, June 28, 2005

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sophie Pitt-Turnbull Discovers America (Reading Together) (Hardcover)

Meet Sophie Pitt-Turnbull. She's a proper British teen who has a strong sense of identity. "I've always been happy with who I am. Not in a stuck-up, I'm-the-best-thing-that's happened-since-the-invention-of-the-lightbulb sort of way. More in a God's-done-a-lot-worse-than-Sophie-Pitt-Turnbull sort of way. I reckoned that I'd improve with age (like wine or cheese), but I never expected to change."

Not in her wildest dreams would Sophie Pitt-Turnbull know what she was getting herself into when she begged and pleaded with her parents to let her go on summer vacation --- or holiday, as the British say. Her family had canceled their usual summer trip to France and Sophie couldn't stand the thought of spending all summer watching Jocelyn Scolfield, a friend who Sophie was on the outs with, and Daniel, Sophie's ex-boyfriend who was now dating Jocelyn. Sophie prayed to get out of England.

And then, a miracle! Sophie's mother had an old friend, Jacqueline Salamanca, from art school. Sophie's mother rang Jacqueline every year to wish her a happy birthday. This year, Jacqueline was complaining how her daughter, Cherry, desperately wanted to go to Europe. It was the perfect idea! They could swap daughters for the summer, so that each girl could get a chance to go overseas.

Sophie was thrilled. She'd seen lots of movies about America --- especially New York City where the Salamancas lived. She couldn't wait to go shopping on Fifth Avenue and hit the art galleries in SoHo.

But then she arrives and things are very different from how she had imagined. The Salamancas were not proper, like Sophie's family. In fact, they were the exact opposite. Mrs. Salamanca insists on being called Jake rather than Mrs. Salamanca or Auntie. Her two kids, Gallup and Tampa, even call her Jake. Gallup is obsessed with animals --- their house is filled with strange creatures including a pet pig named Bart. Sophie has to share a room with Tampa who talks in her sleep. Sophie's luggage gets lost and she has no choice but to wear the weird clunky black clothes that Cherry (whose real name is Cherokee) has left behind. And the most shocking of all is that the Salamancas do not live in New York City. They reside in Brooklyn in a falling down, cluttered house that is not remotely close to the SoHo loft that Sophie had envisioned.

Sophie expects that her summer will be even worse than being in England. Will she be able to put up with the wacky lifestyle of these Brooklynites? Can she put aside her culture shock and actually have a good time?

Dyan Sheldon is the author of many books for young readers including CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN, MY PERFECT LIFE, and PLANET JANET. She does a good job of creating strong female characters and hurdling them through various entertaining obstacles.

SOPHIE PITT-TURNBULL DISCOVERS AMERICA is a fun read for Brooklynites, Londoners, and everyone else too! It's infused with humor and quirky characters that make for an enjoyable read. A helpful British slang glossary is found at the back of the book to help translate some of Sophie's phrases. Even though the British speak the same language as Americans, there are many things that are different. Can our girl Sophie Pitt-Turnbull who "never expected to change" adjust to American life? Read and find out!

--- Reviewed by Kristi Olson