"Speed of Life"

Carol Weston has been the "Dear Carol" advice columnist at Girls' Life since 1994. Her many books include Ava and Pip, Ava and Taco Cat, Ava XOX, The Diary of Melanie Martin, and Girltalk, which came out in a dozen languages.

Weston applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Speed of Life, and reported the following:

It’s funny, Page 69 is a little bit of a spoiler, so stop reading right here if you don’t want to know about my novel's first big twist!

Speed of Life begins on January 1, almost eight months after Sofia’s mother’s sudden death. Sofia’s friends have been 100% there for her — but now it’s a new year and they’re ready for Sofia to cheer up and be a regular eighth grader again. Unfortunately, Sofia's still grieving and can’t just recharge like a cellphone. What she does start doing, however, is confide in Dear Kate, an advice columnist who visits her all-girls’ school. Dear Kate is open and kind and helpful, so Sofia feels comfortable spilling all (all!) the ins and outs of her private life.

Pretty soon, Sofia notices that her widowed father isn’t quite as sad as he had been. Is he moving on? Is he dating? And if so, who? Sofia tells Dear Kate that she’s worried that her dad has a Mystery Woman in his life.

On page 68, Dad reveals that his new girlfriend is in fact an advice columnist — it’s Dear Kate!

Sofia did not see this coming. (And I hope readers won’t have either.)

Visit Carol Weston's website.

The Page 69 Test: Ava and Pip.

--Marshal Zeringue