The Callahan Cousins #2: Home Sweet Home

My daughter(8) and I would highly reccommend all 4 books in the series. Elizabeth Doyle Carey did an excellent job and young girls will be enthralled with the stories. Age appropriate too.

The sequel to `The Callahan Cousins, Summer Begins', is `The Callahan Cousins, Home Sweet Home". This book is just as good as the first one. It is full of adventure, mystery, and some sadness. The book is about the three Callahan cousins, Hilary, Kate, Neeve, and Phoebe and a few of their adventures on Gull Island; on of which their Grandma Gee, ownes twelve acres of land on. One of the cousins, Neeve, finds some disturbing information about her family on the island during their stay. All through the book she is trying to find more information. The four cousins also have a task put in front of them from Gee, decorating a sort of second home down the hill from the house, that they call, `the Dorm'. The girls are very excited and Phoebe, the most inteligent of the four, emidiatly starts taking notes and writes down the supplies they need. Recently the cousins made a weird kind of friendship with their enemy, Sloan Bicket. Now, Sloan has invited them to a party. When the cousins see her at the sailing clinic the next day, Sloan is acting as bossy and mean as ever. Later in the book, Hilary, Kate, Phobe, and Neeve, find out why Sloan always acts so two-faced. All of the Callahan cousins solve their problems by the end of the book. I liked this book because it seemed so realistic, a very adventurous read. This book is definatly up there in the top ten. -Sophia age, 11

The Callahan Cousins: Home Sweet Home is the sequel to The Callahan Cousins: Summer Begins. In this adventure the four Callahan cousins: Neeve, Kate, Hillary and Phoebe--are spending the summer at their grandmother's estate on Gull Island where their grandmother Gee has given them free rein to refurbish and move into the Dorm (guesthouse). While The Callahan Cousins: Summer Begins is Hillary's tale, this book is told from the Neeve's perspective. Neeve and Kate have differing opinions about the redecorating of the Dorm. Both girls want control of the Dorm's decor. When the four cousins begin to search the main house's attic for items that can be used in their new digs, Neeve discovers a wedding photo of her father and a woman who is not her mother. Neeve is shocked and hides the photo from her cousins. The cousins are invited to mean-spirited Sloan's house (she lives on Gull Island year round) for a sleepover. The cousins accept the invitation with the thought that they would seek revenge on Sloan because she insulted two of the cousins. Gee learns of their plans and firmly instructs that they are not to seek their revenge. While at the sleepover, Neeve discovers some photographs that further shock her and she is forced to trade the cosmetics she's collected all over the world for them. Neeve's cousins know something is bothering Neeve but she won't confide her worries. She believes her father was married to another woman, and after overhearing an adult conversation, wonders if he might have been responsible for his first wife's death? And does he have other children that she is not aware of? Family secrets are eventually explained, relationships are sorted out and the books end is satisfying for all. Armchair Interviews says: The Callahan Cousins: Home Sweet Home is a delightful story of family, friendship and sticking together and trusting your loved ones. In an era where Young Adult novels tend toward the dark and gritty, this novel is a breath of fresh air. It's a fast, fun and interesting read. And it has a strong moral compass. And who doesn't want their children to read books with a positive message!

In the sequel to THE CALLAHAN COUSINS #1: SUMMER BEGINS, the four Callahan cousins --- Neeve, Hillary, Kate and Phoebe --- are planning their move into their grandmother Gee's guesthouse, the Dorm. While the first book was truly Hillary's tale, this one is from the viewpoint of Neeve. Kate and Neeve squabble over the redecorating of the shabby area, both wanting to plan the new look. As the girls scout the attic searching for usable finds for their new lair, Neeve discovers a shocking old wedding photograph of her father --- but the bride is not her mother. Completely flabbergasted, Neeve hides the photo and doesn't mention it to anyone. Sloan, the meanest girl on Gull Island, invites the cousins to a sleepover. When Sloan insults two of the cousins, Neeve talks the others into accepting the invitation with the plan of getting even somehow. But Gee gets wind of their revenge plan and squashes it. The girls begin cleaning and painting the Dorm, planning to amaze Gee with a big unveiling of the freshly decorated guesthouse. Meanwhile, Gee delights the cousins by giving them driving lessons "just in case of an emergency." Neeve discovers that Sloan has something that Neeve desires with her whole heart. She trades her case of exotic makeup without telling her cousins what she's trading for, which leaves them confused and worried. The mystery surrounding the puzzling wedding photo deepens when Sloan cryptically mentions the girl in the pictures, adding that her mother says how sad it all ended, and that everyone on Gull Island was upset. Neeve is more anxious than ever. What is the story? Did her father do something wrong? Was he actually married before? Why wouldn't he tell her? Could he have other children? An intriguing mystery, a fabulously cozy setting, and the friendship of "cousins forever" add up to another fresh, fun read in this series. If the conflicts are rather easily solved (as in the averted revenge scenario) and relationships/settings/meals tend to be just a bit too perfect, it all adds to the very high "escape reading" enjoyment factor. --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon [...]

The Callahan Cousins is a wounderful, new, edge-of-your-seat novel great for girls 9-12. The book is about four cousins the same age (12), who come to stay alone together with there Grandmother at an island over the summer. During which, they have TONS of adventures! This is the second book of the series, and I really enjoyed it. I prefer the first book's plot, and I reccomend reading that first. Even so, I bought this book as soon as I could get my hands on it, read it the day I bought it (move over Nancy Drew - it's another edge-of-your-seat saga), then turned around and reread it. It's all-around fabulous! The Callahan Cousins is a wounderful series for late elementary-schooled girls, possibly reaching up to middle. (I am a middle school girl myself.) It has no mature content, and it's fun to go along with the girls on their many cliff-hanging adventures! Also, girls will like the fact that it's realistic fiction, but has some points where you've got to believe it's untrue. Also, their Grandmother isn't overly involved in their stay, so it seems like the girls have the wonderful freedom they're set to have - under a protectful eye but not bombarded. The Callahan Cousins will be a surefire hit with girls!