Thirteen Going on Seven

by Marilyn Sachs

When her twin sister begins to assert her individuality and her grandmother suddenly dies, thirteen-year-old Dezzey finds some comfort in her relationships with her grandfather and a new friend and in an interest in the environment

Genres: Childrens, Young Adult

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Chrys Fey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid. I had forgotten a lot about the story line. Actually, the only thing I seemed to remember is that she liked to jog. This is a cute story about growing up, bonding with grandpa, and developing a passion for picking up trash and recycling.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one as a kid and I always remembered it during times when I wasn't ready to be a woman and just wanted to be a kid again.

[Julia L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen Going on Seven
By: Marilyn Sachs
The book I read this Quarter was Thirteen Going on Seven by Marilyn Sachs. It’s about these twin sisters named Dee and Dezzy and they are very competitive and it’s always been that way. Dee’s full name is Deirdre, and Dezzy’s full name is Dessiree.

Something that I liked that the author did was, How she included real problems that siblings have and wasn't just specific towards the twins. Like on pages 26 and 27, Dezzy is sad that Dee is moving downstairs because they have always shared a room and it felt like to Dezzy that they were drifting apart. I also liked how the author included the loss of a Grandparent and the struggles of that on pages 50 and 51.

I recommend this book because it's very realistic even though it's fiction and it shows real struggles of families. Something that i disliked about this book is that sometimes I couldn't figure out which twin was talking because it did not specify who was who until later in the book. The book wasn't too hard or too easy to read even though some parts were a little difficult to understand and figure out what was going on, it's still a pretty good book depending on what genres you like or prefer. Nothing was really predictable, some parts were obvious on what was going to happen. The ending was pretty good in my opinion. My favorite part is when Dezzy starts to bond with her Grandpa. Things I liked about the style of this author is how she includes dezzy’s opinion on things so it's kinda like it's from Daisy's point of view but it's not.
Thanks for reading!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, I have read Thirteen Going on Seven by Marilyn Sachs more than once, and I have found plenty of good and positive things to say about it.

For one thing, twin sisters Dee and Dezzy — whose real names are said to be Desiree and Deirdre — sure are something neat in their own unique, individual ways. Also, when it comes time for their thirteenth birthday at the beginning of the book, they compromise:

The birthday party was a compromise. Dee invited Sara Hamada, and Dezzy invited Rachel Castori. Dee wore her Gap jeans and her ribbed T-shirt, and Dezzy wore a new pink-and-white party dress. Everyone ended up going to Chang’s for Chinese food. (p. 6)

They also do the same thing when it comes to their fourteenth birthday party at the end of the book:

Dezzy didn’t want a birthday party.
“What I’d really like,” she said, “is to have a big picnic out at Stinson Beach. There’s a bird sanctuary not far from there, and we could see blue herons and snowy egrets. Then we could eat lunch, and, later, hang out on the beach. Most of the kids in my YES group would like to come, and I think we could get some parents to drive us.”

“Absolutely not!” said Dee. “I’d like a real party—boys and girls this time.” Dee grinned. “We could have it downstairs in the basement, string up some decorations and lights. I’ll invite some kids from school and maybe even a few others.”
Dezzy knew that Dee was thinking of Ryan Marcus and a couple other kids she’d met at Camp Cornell.
“We could have Cokes or other soft drinks—”
“Yuck!”
“—and platters of stuff from the deli—”
“Yuck!”
“We could play music and dance. Come on, Dezzy, you could invite Joe and some of the other kids in your weirdo YES group.”
“Most of them don’t drink Cokes anymore—and some of them are vegetarians.”
“Well, I’m not going on any nutty bird-watching picnic.”
“And I’m not going to any tacky party.”

Of course, they compromised. Dee and some of her friends, including Ryan Marcus, came on the picnic to Stinson Beach. It turned out that Ryan was interested in birds as well as acting. Most of the kids loved playing on the clean, sandy beach and splashing in the water. Dezzy jogged by herself along the beach and didn’t notice her ankle at all. She stopped about half a mile away from the others and looked back at all her friends and family enjoying themselves on her birthday. (p. 130-132)

In between, for Dezzy and Dee, plenty of things happen, and they learn about life the hard way. Of course, Dezzy finds comfort in her relationships with her grandfather and her friend Joey Carter, as well as an interest in the environment, which develops from using waste management as a topic for a science project:

Finally, Dezzy got bored. Grandpa and Joey were now playing “Judgement Day” and yelling “Pow” and “Zap” and “Crunch.” She wandered up and down the aisles, looking at some of the old machines and listening to the player piano. Finally, she walked outside onto the walk above the ocean. She picked up a cigarette wrapper and a couple of cigarette butts and tossed them into the garbage can. Then she stood at the wall overlooking the water. She could hear the sounds of the seals barking from Seal Rock, and she watched the cormorants circling and diving for fish.
For the first time since Grandma died, she really felt completely happy. (p. 74-75)

Finally, I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes books about coming of age, or growing up. And I give it five stars (although ten stars would be even better). 📚📖😄