After a summer spent hiking and becoming one with nature in the mountains of Tennessee, fifteen-year-old Carly has discovered she’s more turned on by Neil Young and peasant skirts than Ne-Yo and Coach bags. So she tries to trade the materialistic trappings of her privileged life in the blinged-out Buckhead suburb of Atlanta for a hefty dose of sincere spirituality and altruistic activism. Easier said than done, especially when she returns home to discover that her sweet lil’ sis Anna has sprouted some serious breasts and a smokin’ hot bod. Suddenly, newly noble Carly finds herself in the painful position of being jealous of her own sister, an icky feeling that lingers no matter how much she tries to rationalize it away. It doesn’t help than Anna is also questioning Carly’s god-given big-sister authority and becoming a serious boy magnet while the boy Carly’s crushing on doesn’t even know she’s alive. Meanwhile, Carly’s also struggling with how to get her ultra-slick dad to take her seriously, to assure her new BFF, who happens to be black, that she’s not just a part of Carly’s do-gooder, hippie make-over, and to convince herself that she’s definitely NOT in love with the boy next door who she’s known forever. Contrary to its’ super-cute cover and title, Baby Ducks has some serious meat on it’s pink-n-paisley bones. This surprisingly deep read covers everything from relationships and racism to socioeconomic class and spirituality, and contains lots of those interesting, uncomfortable moments that make you think. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Justina Chen Headley will want to snatch up this sister act asap. And just for fun, check out this video of Myracle chatting about friends, coffee, and Baby Ducks.
Hee hee…you said “smokin’ hot bod”…hee hee!
The cover and title are awfully misleading, aren’t they? I’ll definitely be picking this one up…dang, I have to admit…I kinda like YA better than middle-grade…you YA folks have all the fun…
Dude! Could you PLEASE take over my body whenever I’m supposed to do the author thing and speak intelligently about DUCKS? Please? You do it SO much better than I do.
Thank you, sweetie. Sooooo glad you liked. How the heck-a-doodle (as Peyton’s hairdresser would say) did you know about the (embarrassing) vid?
(Note to Jen: pretend, please, that you did not notice pageant hair, ‘kay? ‘Kay. Glad that’s settled.) 😉
Hi Lauren,
Thanks for stopping by! Love the book, love your hair, hope you win! (anything you want to win, I hope you win it:) If you hate the video I’ll take it down, but I thought it was pretty cute and easy enough to find just by googling!
I’m going to read this book, it looks awesome!!!
Come visit my reading website, it’s
cheerleaderreads.blogspot.com
Check it out!
Thanks,
Jordan M.
I’ve read this book and got a signed copy-it’s unbelieveably awesome! I reccomended it to all my friends!
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!!! IT WAS AMAZING! Carly is one of the most relatable protags i have ever read about. ***** 5 stars.
Wow, this is my new favorite non-Twilight book! I totally loved it 100% and my BFF read it and feels the same. I could connect to Carly in a lot of ways- the struggle to be different, jealousy of her younger sister (hehe), and even her style. I went on youtube and looked up a bunch of the songs mentioned in the book and I liked them. =) Write a sequel! Lauren, you rock! I love Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen, too.
One of my favorite books ever. I remember some of the songs mentioned, like “If you want to sing out, sing out” by Cat Stevens, but does anyone know of any other songs mentioned? I would love to look them up.
I love this book so much! I can completely relate to every part of it: her school, her wanting to be a free spirit, her taste in music. Even though I am not a lot like Carly, I wish I was sometimes!
Hannah, so glad you liked it. Lauren is such a good writer isn’t she? I agree, her characters are SO relateable!
Jen, I totally agree with you!
Hi!! I wanted to talk to Lauren about something!! Her books are remarkable!! I love them and they make me cry……on some!! Please tell me how I can email or contact Lauren!! She is amazing!!!
Hi Hannah P.,
Try her website: http://www.laurenmyracle.com/contact
Good luck!
def a 5 star book! LOVED IT! one of the BEST BOOKS IVE EVER READ!
lauren myracle, ive read eleven, twelve, and thirteen as well and loved them. i think you are an amazing author!
I soo want there to be a sequel to this book. I LOVED it. I read an advanced readers copy so I probably should read the actual published book. But. I reallly want to read more about it. I could definitely imagine myself there with them. and a lot of this happens in real life to. and is happening to me right now. please. please please write a sequel 🙂
Peace
<3
Baby Ducks 🙂
i love the book so much!
I LOVE THAT BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i loved this book. I can really relate to Carly, as I am very jealous of my sis too. To lauren myracle: do you have any other books that I can read???? Thanks!
ps WRITE A SEQUEL!!!! IT IS SUCH A GOOD BOOK!
Hey i really liked this book 🙂 It reLly relates to My sis and I . Very well written 🙂