Marshmallow reviews Soof by Sarah Weeks

A few months ago Marshmallow reviewed Save Me A Seat, a 2016 novel by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan. Today she wanted to talk about Soof, a 2018 book by Sarah Weeks that she has read recently. As this was an exceptionally busy week for Marshmallow, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, tell me a bit about this book.

Marshmallow: Soof is about a girl named Aurora. Aurora has grown up hearing about this girl named Heidi, who brought Aurora’s family a lot of good luck. Heidi was apparently the main character of another book Sarah Weeks wrote, and in Soof, Heidi is now a grownup and is pregnant. She’s going to come to visit Aurora’s parents, and so Aurora is feeling a bit weird about it all. She is excited to meet this Heidi. but she is also a bit jealous of how much her mom likes her. I think this is totally understandable, because her mom and her dad keep telling her about Heidi and how she seemed to bring good luck to the people around her. And Aurora, she doesn’t feel lucky at all. Especially when her house burns down and she loses her dog.

S: Hmm, that is quite a setup for a story. I did not know this book was a sequel. Did you read that other book?

M: No. But it does not seem necessary to have read that first book. (I think its name is So B. It.) I thought the story stood on its own.

S: Hmm, sometimes authors like a character in a story and then bring them back to life in different ways in other books. Maybe that was what happened here too. A girl who brings good luck would be a good plot device I’d say.

M: Well, I don’t want to say she brings good luck, and I don’t think it is magic or anything. It’s just that she is extremely lucky. But anyways, the story is mainly about Aurora and her life.

S: And Aurora is not very lucky and she is curious to meet Heidi but also slightly jealous. Okay, I think I get it. So now you have to tell me, what is the meaning of the word in the title?

M: Soof apparently means love. One of the main plot lines is for Aurora to learn what soof really means.

S: Looking it up online there seems to be some explanation of that in the first book too, so maybe it was good you had not read that one.

M: Yes, I actually found it interesting to meet Heidi from Aurora’s perspective. I’m intrigued by the other story too. Apparently they made a movie about it. Shall we put in the trailer here?

S: Sure.

M: I think we should tell our readers that there is a movie named Soof too but it is not the same Soof.

S: Yes, I think that is a good idea. Okay, let us get back to the book. Did you like the book?

M: Yes. I liked the characters, I thought they were very realistic. I too would be kind of jealous if my mom kept talking about this other person Heidi who was so awesome.

S: Okay, I will keep that in mind. So was the book also funny?

M: Not really. I think it was more emotional than funny. But I did like it.

S: You have read and reviewed Save Me A Seat, which the author of Soof cowrote with someone else. Do you see any similarities between the two books?

M: I think they are quite different. I think the author was able to create a totally different story with totally different characters.

S: That is a good thing! They are both aimed towards middle grade readers. but other than that, the author is versatile enough to create totally independent stories. That is neat.

M: Yes. I think she actually has several other books besides these two. Her website is an interesting place to visit.

S: What would you like to ask her if you could?

M: I’d ask her where she got the ideas for all of Aurora’s quirks. She likes tapping her nose and things like that. I think it is interesting.

S: That’s a good question Marshmallow. And it is clear you enjoyed reading this book. I’m assuming you’d recommend it to other readers?

M: Certainly. I rate it 95%, only because Aurora feels so different from me, so I have some difficulty completely understanding her.

S: Well that’s fair. After all you are a little bunny and she is …

M: Yes. That must be it.

S: Okay, so let us wrap up this review then. What would you like to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies!