A quirky coming-of-age tale with a fantastical edge.
Neon clothing, refreshing Orange Julius beverages, and teenage hormones are all the rage in Ashley Good’s glossy buddy book, Just Add Water. Taylor becomes a sort of emancipated thirteen-year-old as she boldly leaves the comfort and confines of her childhood home to live with her older sister in the big city. Well, the bigger city. Coming from a town of less than one hundred residents, any location boasting its own shopping mall is quite the upgrade. While shopping for school clothes, Taylor impulsively buys the season’s most anticipated new toy designed for lonely kids everywhere. Grow a Friend, a semi-sentient doll that needs only water to spring to life, turns out to be a very alive boy who believes himself to be a prince. How can Taylor possibly explain the spongy prince hiding out in her bedroom without freaking her sister out or alienating her new best friend? Having only ever been home-schooled before, Taylor deals with all the expected angst, embarrassments, and apprehensions as she experiences public school, true friendship, and a truly supportive family for the first time.
Just Add Water is the perfect upbeat early-teen dramedy to enjoy while listening to an old Spin Doctors CD and enjoying a handful of sour apple Jolly Ranchers. Ashley Good really captures the colorful and progressive vibe of the mid-nineties through rich descriptions, nostalgic pop culture references, and the changing attitudes highlighted in the novel. Mischa, Taylor’s first and best friend, vividly encapsulates so many young people at that time, so full of confidence and bravado with her dark makeup and brusque manner, yet quietly yearning for acceptance. And even though the conflict between Taylor’s conservative parents and her lesbian sister is a recurring theme, the book retains a lightness and jocularity, making for an relatable story for tweens and teens in all sorts of circumstances. A quirky coming-of-age tale with a fantastical edge, Just Add Water is as fun and familiar as flipping through your old high school yearbook, but possibly with a better ending.
