The Girls of Skylark Lane

Benway, Robin. The Girls of Skylark Lane
October 1, 2024 by HarperCollins

E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

Twins Jac and Aggie move from San Francisco to Los Angeles with the dad and papa, and try to settle in to a new routine before the school year starts. Jac is very concerned about her image, crafting just the fight outfit and trying to impress Finn, the brother of a classmate, on whom she has a crush. Aggie doesn't like change, and is worried about the new school, making friends, and everything else. She is glad to befriend Twink, who recruits her and Jac to play on her informal softball team. Since Finn is Jac's brother, it's easy to get Jac to come. The twins meet several new people at Tink's, including Dylan, whose mother is on one of the "Housewives" television shows, and spends a lot of time on social media trying to develop an income stream after a bitter divorce from Dylan's mother. Adriana is the CEO of a nonprofit fundraising lemonade stand and is consumed by spreadsheets and donating money to the local children's hospital in honor of a brother who died as an infant. There's also Taylor, who is homeschooled, and who tells Aggie that she just transitioned, and joined Tink's informal team because parents forced her off her Little League team after they found out she was trans. The twins have some difficulties with their own relationship, especially since Jac is happy to grow up, have a birthday party at Sephora, and embrace being a teen, but Aggie hates change and is not happy when she gets her period. To complicate matters, there is a wildfire in the area that causes the families on the street to evacuate. Jac and Aggie are glad that everyone is safe, and use the time away from their New home to evaluate what is important in life. This is even more clear when Tink's family loses their home to the fire, and the neighborhood rallies to help them out. 

Strengths: I loved Benway's note that there are lots of families that live in Los Angeles; having Dylan's mother be on a Housewives show was a fun thing to show! The big draw to this book will be the friend drama, and I was so glad that while Aggie and Jac had some reservations about moving, they weren't throwing fits, and they were able to find a friend group fairly quickly. This was very inclusive, and the fact that the twins had two dads, as well as Taylor's gender identity, were both addressed in very matter-of-fact ways. This is great representation for students who have similar life circumstances. There's enough softball to keep sports fans reading, a fun Halloween, and even some service learning, with Adriana and her nonprofit. I love the cover; it immediately puts me in mind of summer evenings being out playing with friends during the "golden hour". 
Weaknesses: I would have liked to have had a little more information about being evacuated during the fire, but I imagine that there are scenes like this that happen again and again in California. This was more of a character driven book than a plot driven one, which is a little easier to sell to a young adult audience, but still interesting for most middle grade readers.  
What I really think: Readers who are familiar with Benway's 2013 spy romp  Also Known As might be surprised at how domestic this title is, but her note at the beginning of the book explains that she was inspired by her own tweendom to explore the different ways that friendships play out during these years. This is a good choice for fans of Calin's The New Girl, Greenwald's Fortune Tellers, or Faris' Finding Normal.