MMGM- Let's Get Together

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Colbert, Brandy. Let’s Get Together
September 9, 2025 by Clarion Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This reimagining of the classic 1961 The Parent Trap movie, based on the 1949 German book by Erich Kästner, Das Doppelte Lottchen, starts with an important note by Colbert. She loved the movie growing up, but was bothered by the fact that the twins were split up. I recently read the Pushkin Press rerelease of Kastner’s title, and thought the same thing. It’s an interesting story, but how can it be made relevant to today’s young readers? This is how.

Kenya Norwood has been going to Biddy Mason Community School for her entire school career. She lives with her father, Wes, and her grandmother, Cookie. She has two good friends, Imani, who is Black like Kenya, and Willa, who is white. Her mother abandoned the family when Kenya was very young, and no one ever talks about her. Liberty has quite a different life. She is starting her tenth new school because she has been in the foster care system since she was an infant, and knows practically nothing about her parents. She has a really good foster mother now, Joey, who is supportive and fun. When Liberty starts at Biddy Mason, she is mistaken for another girl. Kenya also is confused, and when the two finally meet, they realize they share the same umber skin, dimpled chin, and unusual hazel eyes. Kenya is not happy with the interloping doppelganger, especially when her crush, Cameron, seems to be unable to tell the two apart… or is he more interested in Liberty? Cherry-Anne comes to Kenya’s aid and befriends her, but also asks her insensitive questions about being in foster care. When both girls end up in the outdoor explorers’ club (with Cameron!), the rivalry intensifies, and comes to a crisis at the school dance. After a fight, both girls’ parents are called in, and the truth emerges: Liberty likely IS Kenya’s twin, who was taken by their mother. She struggled with drug addiction, and even though the father and grandmother tried very hard to find the two, the mother did not want to be found, and eventually passed away. After a paternity test, Wes is revealed as the father, which puts Liberty in an awkward position. She wants to be with her father, but Joey was set to adopt her, and she really loves Joey as well. It doesn’t take long for Liberty and Kenya to hatch a plan to get their parents together so that everyone can be one happy family. This involves canceling a Thanksgiving dinner order so that Kenya’s family has to meet Joey’s parents, and a camping trip that goes fairly smoothly. There are still some problems, like Liberty’s anxiety over the whole situation that results in a panic attack at a haunted house. This ends on a happy but realistically inconclusive note; Wes and Joey get along well, but are still not a couple by the end of the book.
Strengths: This was exactly what I wanted in a retelling of Kastner’s tale! It has a great setting (I really want to go to Pasadena and visit Bungalow Heaven now!), supportive adults, and a plausible reason for the twins to have been separated that is realistic and not mean. Kenya’s reaction to Liberty is understandable, as is Liberty’s desire to be with both Wes and Joey. The inclusion of Cameron, Kenya’s crush, gives this another fun level of drama for tweens. The issue of drug addiction, and its effect on the family, is explained well, and even addresses the fact that the father had a brief problem as well. There is a touching scene where Cookie takes both girls to the house where they all lived together. Some local history is included as well, with Biddy Mason, a formerly enslaved woman who owned property in the area.
Weaknesses: It seemed a little unrealistic that Kenya’s father and grandmother wouldn’t have told her about her mother, considering how many children are being raised by one parent or by grandparents these days, but every family is different, and the plot does revolve around this secrecy!
What I really think: I really enjoyed this one, and it was a relief to read something that was generally upbeat even though it had children with serious issues. I will definitely purchase this one for my library, and see it being popular with readers who like books about twins like Meyer and Levy’s Let It Glow, Johnson and Wright’s Twins, Kim’s On Thin Ice, Benway’s The Girls of Skylark Lane ,or DeVillers and Roy’s (who are twins!) 2010 Trading Faces. 

Kastner, Erich. The Parent Trap

Originally Das Doppelte Lottchen, 1949

Reissued by Pushkin Children's books, 9/25/25

While the premise of this book (twins separated and not aware of each other's existence, one living with the mother, one living with the father) is certainly intriguing enough to be made into a movie twice, the style of writing belongs to a long gone era and doesn't hold up very well. There's a lot of meanness, layered with a lot of sickly sweet talking to the reader that is just no longer in style. The fact that the girls got their parents back together seemed very unlikely, especially since we aren't really given a good explanation for why they split up in the first place. I did like the fact that the mother had a career, and this was an interesting look at post war Germany. The illustrations are definitely a plus as well.

I'm glad I read this, but can't imagine handing it to a middle school or elementary school reader. Would this be an interesting book to rewrite with modern sensibilities? Perhaps. I think the Hayley Mills movie version is probably the best middle ground for this plot. Have to love the original cover! 

A bit uninspired this  month. Finishing up January titles; some of the February releases look promising.