What I’m Reading -- Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley and Heather Helper

Fiction, Teen -- Scrambled Eggs at Midnight is one of my favorite books in a while. This is basically a romance with two interesting main characters in Calliope (Cal) and Eliot. Both teens are caught in lives they did not ask for and they have created coping mechanisms to deal with their situations. Cal has become used to moving every few months as her Mom works at Renaissance Faires and Cal never talks to her father who has moved on with a new life. Eliot’s family lives in and runs a Christian camp for overweight children forcing him to adopt to his parents strict lifestyles. Basically, this book is Nic and Norah’s Infinite Playlist except that it takes place in a small town (instead of New York) and is not condescending and pretentious. Barkley and Helper do an awesome job making Cal and Eliot realistic as the characters seek to improve their family life and personal lives while cultivating their own relationship together. The story of them meeting while Eliot’s lips are green is hilarious. While some of the plot devices come a bit too easy, this is a great read.