Tween Tuesday: One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street by Joanne Rocklin

4 wonderful frosted sugar cookies (preferable with an orange flavor).

Cover Love: Yes! I just get a warm and cozy feeling when I look at this cover.

Why I Wanted to Read This:
The cover was the main reason, and the title. Here's the synopsis from Good Reads:

When a mysterious man arrives one day on Orange Street, the children who live on the block try to find out who he is and why he’s there. Little do they know that his story—and the story of a very old orange tree—connects to each of their personal worries in ways they never could have imagined. From impressing friends to dealing with an expanding family to understanding a younger sibling’s illness, the characters’ storylines come together around that orange tree.

Taking place over the course of a day and a half, Joanne Rocklin’s masterful novel deftly builds a story about family, childhood anxieties, and the importance of connection. In the end the fate of the tree (and the kids who care for it) reminds us of the magic of the everyday and of the rich history all around us.

I Kept Reading Because:
It made me feel good. This was such a nice and cozy book. This is a neighborhood I could visit many times.

What I Liked (& Didn't):
First of all, I would love to high five the book designers as Amulet. They don't just put a great cover on the book, they design the whole book to be an amazing reading experience. There are pages that look like a cloudy blue sky and pages that contain few words, and the thing as a whole is just pleasant and warm.

I loved the writing. There were phrases like (describing an orange), "Mostly sweet, but tart, like happiness and sadness mixed together." It's perfect!

I liked all the characters, and that this was not one big coming of age book, it was just a typical day in the life type book, but with some extraordinary events.

I love the neighborhood, and I adore that it was set in LA. That there are streets like this all over and kids that have a childhood. Wonderful.

And, I could feel the summer heat and smell the oranges, the writing was very descriptive.

To Sum Up: Very sweet story that would be enjoyable to visit again and again.

Book requested and received from Amulet. Thanks Laura!!