What do you think?
Rate this book
Win a free print copy of this book!
0 days and 22:29:33
10 copies available
U.S. only
Let It Glow
Win a free print copy of this book!
0 days and 22:29:33
10 copies available
U.S. only
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. What better way 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 traditions–what could possibly go wrong?
One thing the girls do have in common is their curiosity about how the other celebrates the holidays. What better way 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 traditions–what could possibly go wrong?
256 pages, Paperback
Expected publication October 1, 2024
About the author
Marissa Meyer
74 books127k followersI live in Tacoma, Washington, with my husband and beautiful twin daughters. Represented by Jill Grinberg. Learn more about me and my upcoming books at http://www.marissameyer.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Read
January 24, 2024So exited!! Marissa Meyer I will literally read anything by you !
Want to read
May 12, 2024SO excited for this - i'm really intrigued to see how marissa meyer's style will look when she's co-authoring a book!
July 14, 2024
I recently introduced my girls to The Parent Trap and It Takes Two… they are fascinated by long lost twin stories so this was a fun one to read aloud and have a bit of a Holiday in July moment.
I think the target audience will absolutely love this story about Aviva and Holly. Adopted and separated at birth… they met in an unexpected way and decided to switch homes for a few days. Embracing one another’s families and traditions.
Thank you Feiwel & Friends
Releases 10/1
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
I think the target audience will absolutely love this story about Aviva and Holly. Adopted and separated at birth… they met in an unexpected way and decided to switch homes for a few days. Embracing one another’s families and traditions.
Thank you Feiwel & Friends
Releases 10/1
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
June 30, 2024
Cute story of twins that were separated at birth and happened to find each other at a senior center. Each knew they were adopted, but neither knew they were a twin, which makes this a fun twist for the families as well. The girls decide to trade homes for a couple of days, which makes for some quirky opportunities, but one that I think kids will enjoy reading.
I will definitely be purchasing this book for the library at my school as I know my students will enjoy it. I also really think the cover is beautiful!
Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends, for the ARC.
I will definitely be purchasing this book for the library at my school as I know my students will enjoy it. I also really think the cover is beautiful!
Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends, for the ARC.
July 25, 2024
Marissa Meyer is an auto-read author for me at this point, and I am so glad I was able to read this e-arc of her upcoming book co-written with Joanne Levy, Let It Glow, thanks to Netgally!
This story is a new spin on the classic trope of identical twins meeting for the first time and then switching places! I really loved how in this story the twins had been separated by adoption rather than through a broken family situation.
A big theme through the story is learning about the different holiday traditions each twin was raised in (Christmas vs. Hanukkah) and how they were each able to embrace who they were as individuals while also celebrating each other. I think that is an admirable lesson and made for a sweet story!
I think it is important to note that in this story, the girls learn about the history of Hanukkah and Aviva learns to "feel more Jewish", but there is nothing said about the history of or meaning behind Christmas. Both holidays are treated by the families in the story as meaningful traditions, but there is no mention of God or any real religious significance on either part. I fully assume that was the intention of the authors, but I personally think that was a bit of a disservice to both Jewish and Christian beliefs, when a big part of the plot was centered around this topic, but so much was seemingly left out.
This story is a new spin on the classic trope of identical twins meeting for the first time and then switching places! I really loved how in this story the twins had been separated by adoption rather than through a broken family situation.
A big theme through the story is learning about the different holiday traditions each twin was raised in (Christmas vs. Hanukkah) and how they were each able to embrace who they were as individuals while also celebrating each other. I think that is an admirable lesson and made for a sweet story!
I think it is important to note that in this story, the girls learn about the history of Hanukkah and Aviva learns to "feel more Jewish", but there is nothing said about the history of or meaning behind Christmas. Both holidays are treated by the families in the story as meaningful traditions, but there is no mention of God or any real religious significance on either part. I fully assume that was the intention of the authors, but I personally think that was a bit of a disservice to both Jewish and Christian beliefs, when a big part of the plot was centered around this topic, but so much was seemingly left out.
June 19, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Aviva Davis loves visiting her Bubbe at her home at the Rowena Village senior living facility, and she's very interested in trying out for their holiday pageant, since she loves to perform, but she's a little irritated that the director wants her to sing Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel as the token nod to Hanukkah. She also doesn't feel very Jewish; after all, she's adopted, and her family is not observant. It also doesn't help that people question her brother's Jewish identity, since her father is Black. She decides that she would like to know more about this part of her family history. Holly Martin comes to Rowena Village when her mother wants her Gramps to visit; he suffers from arthritis and has recently had a fall. Her single mother is very busy with her work at the bank. Holly loves hanging out with Gramps, though, since he is a writer of adult mysteries, and she loves to write as well. During the tour, Holly is encourage to check out the pageant, and when she runs in to Aviva, they are shocked that they are not only identical to each other, but are both adopted and share the same birthday! Holly offers to help Aviva write something better to perform in the pageant, since it gives them an excuse to hang out and get to the bottom of their past. They eventually decide to switch homes for four days, so that they can learn about each other's families and prepare for a Big Reveal during the pageant. This has lots of rocky moments, since Holly hasn't practiced Hebrew and Aviva doesn't hit it off with Holly's cat Sherlock! There's also a charming scene where Aviva's younger brother is sure that his sister has been killed, and Holly is an alien who has taken her place! While this is all going on, Bubbe and Gramps start hanging out together, and Gramps starts to realize that Rowena Village is an interesting place to live. When he falls at the facility and there is a nurse right there, that also helps cement his decision to move. Eventually, of course, they have to come clean to their families and open letters that their birth mother left for birth girls, but first have to deliver a stellar performance for the pageant.
Strengths: The only middle schoolers who don't want to have a twin are the ones who actually do. There is something very intriguing about having a built in friend and confidant at this age that is very appealing, and books about twins always circulate well. Books about holidays are also in great demand, and this takes a very realistic look at the relationship that many tweens today have with religious holidays. Aviva's desire to understand her heritage more is perfect. I really appreciated that there weren't any dead parents; Holly's mother has always been single, and the Davis parents run a busy dental practice and often don't have time to celebrate in the way that Aviva would like. The most brilliant part of this for me was the depiction of the grandparents. They are still active and engaged, although struggling somewhat with failing eyesight and mobility issues, and Rowena Village is portrayed in a positive light. Grandchildren are even encouraged to be involved in the community events. This is very representative of the situation that many middle school students have with their grandparents. The fact that Bubbe and Gramps hit it off was the sour cream on the latke!
Weaknesses: As a parent, I wasn't completely sold that the girls could trade places for two days, but that's what makes it fun. Tweens absolutely think they could pull this off.
What I really think: Levy (Crushing It) and Meyer (Cinder) must have had a lot of fun writing this book together. It was an endearing tale that has a lot of staying power. The cover will help it fly off the shelves. I'm definitely looking forward to having a copy of this to put on display for the winter holiday season.
Aviva Davis loves visiting her Bubbe at her home at the Rowena Village senior living facility, and she's very interested in trying out for their holiday pageant, since she loves to perform, but she's a little irritated that the director wants her to sing Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel as the token nod to Hanukkah. She also doesn't feel very Jewish; after all, she's adopted, and her family is not observant. It also doesn't help that people question her brother's Jewish identity, since her father is Black. She decides that she would like to know more about this part of her family history. Holly Martin comes to Rowena Village when her mother wants her Gramps to visit; he suffers from arthritis and has recently had a fall. Her single mother is very busy with her work at the bank. Holly loves hanging out with Gramps, though, since he is a writer of adult mysteries, and she loves to write as well. During the tour, Holly is encourage to check out the pageant, and when she runs in to Aviva, they are shocked that they are not only identical to each other, but are both adopted and share the same birthday! Holly offers to help Aviva write something better to perform in the pageant, since it gives them an excuse to hang out and get to the bottom of their past. They eventually decide to switch homes for four days, so that they can learn about each other's families and prepare for a Big Reveal during the pageant. This has lots of rocky moments, since Holly hasn't practiced Hebrew and Aviva doesn't hit it off with Holly's cat Sherlock! There's also a charming scene where Aviva's younger brother is sure that his sister has been killed, and Holly is an alien who has taken her place! While this is all going on, Bubbe and Gramps start hanging out together, and Gramps starts to realize that Rowena Village is an interesting place to live. When he falls at the facility and there is a nurse right there, that also helps cement his decision to move. Eventually, of course, they have to come clean to their families and open letters that their birth mother left for birth girls, but first have to deliver a stellar performance for the pageant.
Strengths: The only middle schoolers who don't want to have a twin are the ones who actually do. There is something very intriguing about having a built in friend and confidant at this age that is very appealing, and books about twins always circulate well. Books about holidays are also in great demand, and this takes a very realistic look at the relationship that many tweens today have with religious holidays. Aviva's desire to understand her heritage more is perfect. I really appreciated that there weren't any dead parents; Holly's mother has always been single, and the Davis parents run a busy dental practice and often don't have time to celebrate in the way that Aviva would like. The most brilliant part of this for me was the depiction of the grandparents. They are still active and engaged, although struggling somewhat with failing eyesight and mobility issues, and Rowena Village is portrayed in a positive light. Grandchildren are even encouraged to be involved in the community events. This is very representative of the situation that many middle school students have with their grandparents. The fact that Bubbe and Gramps hit it off was the sour cream on the latke!
Weaknesses: As a parent, I wasn't completely sold that the girls could trade places for two days, but that's what makes it fun. Tweens absolutely think they could pull this off.
What I really think: Levy (Crushing It) and Meyer (Cinder) must have had a lot of fun writing this book together. It was an endearing tale that has a lot of staying power. The cover will help it fly off the shelves. I'm definitely looking forward to having a copy of this to put on display for the winter holiday season.
July 16, 2024
Aviva Davis and Holly Martin both know they were adopted, but when they run into each other at a senior center, they realized that they are identical twins. Both were raised in warm loving families, and developed very different personalities. Of course, they decide to switch places to see what the other family is like, and how they celebrate Hannukah and Christmas – the food! the traditions!
The Parent Trap meets Separated at Birth is fun and sweet and often not believable but always enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this DRC.
#LetItGlow #NetGalley
The Parent Trap meets Separated at Birth is fun and sweet and often not believable but always enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this DRC.
#LetItGlow #NetGalley
July 26, 2024
Coming out in September 2024, I read this from Net Galley. I love a holiday book and there are very few for middle-grade students. This one is about twins who accidentally meet at an assisted living center while involved with the Christmas program for the home. If you know "Parent Trap" you will get all those vibes in this book. The novel explores the differences in Christmas celebrations and Hannukkah since one twin is raised Jewish and the other Christian. The book reminded me of a "kid" version of a Hallmark movie. It would make a great screen adaptation.
Want to read
January 5, 2024Is this what I think it is??? Is one of my all time favorite YA authors writing a CHRISTMAS BOOK???
This is SO EXCITING and I can't wait for it!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews