Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Annelie Geissler
Categories
Children’s, Teenage & Educational

LET IT GLOW

Joanne Levy Marissa Meyer

LET IT GLOW, a sweet, festive novel that's The Parent Trap meets holiday cheer.

When Aviva Davis and Holly Martin meet at the holiday pageant tryouts for their local senior's center, they think they must be seeing double. While they both knew they were adopted, they had no idea they had a biological sibling, let alone an identical twin! The similarities are only skin deep, though, because while Aviva has a big personality and even bigger Broadway plans, Holly is more the quiet dreamer type who longs to become a famous author like her grandfather. One thing the girls do have in common is their curiosity about how the other celebrates the holidays. How better to discover the magic of the holidays than to experience them firsthand? The girls secretly trade lives, planning to stage a dramatic reveal to their families at the pageant. Two virtual strangers swapping homes, holidays, and age-old traditionswhat could possibly go wrong? Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles series, Heartless, the Renegades trilogy, Instant Karma, the Gilded duology, and With a Little Luck. She also edited the anthology Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed. She created and hosts The Happy Writer podcast, where she interviews authors on how to overcome various obstacles and bring more joy to the writing process. Her books have sold over five million copies worldwide and have been published in 37 foreign territories. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and their two daughters. Joanne Levy is the acclaimed author of numerous novels for middle grade readers. Most recently, Sorry For Your Loss was a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable 2022 (which recognizes the best in Jewish literature) and a finalist for the prestigious Governor General's Award for Young People's Literature. It won the Canadian Jewish Literary Award and has been nominated for the Red Maple Award, the Red Cedar Award and the Rocky Mountain Book Award. Joanne lives in Ontario with her husband and kids of the furred and feathered variety.

Available products
Book Published 2024-10-01 by Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends

Comments

In a funny, feel-good tale, 12-year-old twins separated at birth meet by chance and try to pull off a family switch during the December holidays. The girls, who are cued white, agree that it would be a delicious prank, but each has a personal motive, too: Aviva Davis, who was adopted by a culturally Jewish mom and a Black dad who was raised Christian, wonders what it's like to celebrate Christmas. Budding author Holly Martin, who was adopted by a white-presenting single mom, sees a golden opportunity to gather experiences for a school writing assignment about facing her fears. In a plot as sweet as a Hanukkah jelly doughnut and twisty as a Christmas cinnamon roll, the pair just manages to bail one another out of a string of sticky situationsboth hilarious and otherwise. They both learn something of the customs and meaning of the two holidays while working through tears and laughternot to mention conflicts sparked by their very different personalities. Everything culminates in a holiday performance at a local senior center that will have readers rising up to cheer them on. Though their history remains tantalizingly mysterious, for the protagonists, who narrate alternating chapters, it's mission accomplished and more: Aviva emerges feeling more secure in her Jewish identity, while anxious Holly discovers unexpected depths of courage. A warm bundle of holiday cheer.

Aviva and Holly, two 12-year-old girls, discover that they are identical twins. Each was adopted; their parents weren't ever told that their daughter had a twin. When both girls volunteer to help with a December holiday pageant, they meet by chanceleading to many questions and an immediate bond. Both are conflicted about the pageant: Aviva doesn't feel "Jewish enough" to be the only kid representing Judaism in the show; Holly promises Aviva to sing with her onstage, but suffering from stage fright, she dreads performing. Vivacious Aviva aims for onstage glory, while Holly hopes to become a writer. Holly and Aviva narrate alternating chapters. Much of the action takes place when the twins secretly switch places for several days to better understand each other's families and their December holiday celebrations. The ending is as predictable as that of a Christmas-themed rom-com and just as enjoyable for tweens. Meyer, who usually writes for teens, and Levy, who writes middle-grade fiction, offer a lively, engaging narrative.

Aviva Davis knows she was born to sing and dance, so when her bubbe suggests she try out for the Hanukkah number in the holiday pageant at her senior center, Aviva is all in. She's less certain about her Jewish identityher adoptive father isn't Jewish, and her family doesn't "celebrate anything," though she does persuade them to observe Hanukkah this year. Meanwhile, Holly Martin, also adopted, wishes her mother wasn't too busy for Christmas and that she could take better care of her grandfather, who walks with a cane and is a writer like Holly. The girls meet when Holly's family tours the senior center, and they soon discover that not only do they look identical, they have the same birthday. Curious about how the other spends the holidays, the tweens hatch a cheeky scheme that recalls The Parent Trap, switching places. Via alternating chapters, Holly and Aviva avoid near discovery, miss their families, plan for the pageant, and learn what being sisters feels like in this charming family-focused holiday tale by Levy (Bird Brain) and Meyer (Instant Karma).