Tune in Anytime

By Caroline B. Cooney

Book Overview

Intrigue. Suspense. Romance. Evil schemers, innocent victims, and true love. Is it a TV soap opera? Not exactly. It's what's happening to 16-year-old Sophie Olivette when her father announces he wants... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440227984
• ISBN13: 9780440227984
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf Library
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.3" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

I love this book!

What a purely delightful read this book is! "Tune In Anytime" is set up like a soap opera with each new episode a continuation of the lives of the Olivette and Larkman families. A family drama, the book is quite the deviation for Caroline B. Cooney, a suspense genre writer. Poor Sophie Olivette is the still point amidst the self-centered members of her family: Daniel, 49, who plans to divorce his mate, then remarry a young model; Edith, the old wife, a long-time self-seeker; Marley, older daughter, feisty college student; and Sophie, a sensible high school student longing for her family to remain intact. At the beginning of each chapter an italicized script introduces a typical soap opera plot, then adapts it to the Olivette family. The chapter follows the thread but in most unusual ways. First, the writing is pure magic. I will reread this book just to recapture the lovely enchantment of Cooney's words. Second, the characters never react to events in expected ways. There is an aura of mystery and other worldliness to them. Could it be caused by the stone circle on the Larkman property, where Edith plans a solstice party to precede the New Year's Eve wedding of her soon-to-be ex-husband. There's a bulldozer involved. One of the best parts of the book is the slowly evolving romance between Sophie Olivette and Ted Larkman, high school student and third-generation gravel pit operator. His parents are doubly involved: in the plot and in the magic. Sound confusing? The novel is open-ended, but how the relationship turns out is as obvious as fairy dust. Think of the best of Woody Allen, then you have a sense of the strange evolving in this modern day fairy tale. Very highly recommended!

How to Wreak Vengeance with a Bulldozer

Caroline B. Cooney's Tune in Anytime was an interesting look at two families. Primarily the story dealt with the unraveling of the ties that bind the dysfunctional Olivette family together. Edith, the mother, made "finding herself" a full time job. The oldest daughter, Marley, was self-centered and constantly ranting and raving. Daniel, the father, fell head-over-heels in lust with Marley's college roommate, Persia. The only person acting like a responsible adult was the youngest daughter, Sophie. Sophie felt like her life had turned into a soap opera. The author provided a solid and ordinary family to compare with the Olivettes. Ted and his family were very down-to-earth people. The parents acted like adults and they were caring and respectful of one another. Tune in Anytime described some outlandish events. However, I felt like the characters and events could have been real. In my mind, I could imagine the evening news describing the final scene. I almost dropped the book because I was laughing so hard. I would recommend Tune in Anytime to all young adults, but especially to anyone who is dealing with divorce. Children going through a divorce will be able to relate to Sophie's feeling that she was the only person in her family who was still a family. Everyone else was single. Karen Woodworth-Roman

ZLI says "Get it while you have the chance"

get your money out of your wallit fast because this books worth it. I have been reading books all of my life, and I havent ever read a book quite like this one. This is a book of sarrow, comady and romance will make you feel like you want to read this book forever. GET IT NOW !!!!!!!!!

Awsome!

I have literally read every book Caroline B. Cooney has written and for some reason I put off reading this book. I am not the soap opera type and thought there was no way I would like the book. Boy was I wrong! I finally decided to read it and fell in love with this book! It is really an amazing story. The emotion throughout the whole story is so intense you feel like your in the book! The characters give off a quality that you are still laughing and thinking about weeks later. I found myself taking quotes from the book and using them in conversations. I told every one of my friends to read it and loaned it to everyone I know. This is a really great book!

Another great book from CBC.

I was laughing before I finished the first page. Sophie's reactions to the shambles her life becomes are just hilarious. I wanted to do pretty much the same thing when my parents got divorced. Ms. Cooney is a very talented author.