Callahan Cousins, The: Summer Begins

A mother of three girls, I picked up this book to glance at it and could not put it down. Fun and beautifully written, the book has momentum, suspense and great characters. Each of the four cousins is instantly loveable, different and poignant in her own way, each offering a potential role model for her reader. By simply opening the book one gets a taste of a rich and wholesome world filled with home-baked pies, sage advice and young excitement. Depicting the special relationship between cousins and with their grandmother, Summer Begins is a slice of paradise, if not problem-free, marked by remarkable family values, strength of character and the adventures of self-discovery. I loved this book!

Perfect for summer leisure reading is this spirited adventure of the twelve-year-old Callahan cousins who anticipate fun at their grandmother's seaside estate for the whole summer without parents in Callahan Cousins: Summer Begins. Add a mystery revolving around legend and an old rivalry on the island and you have a fast-paced story warm with family interactions and discovery.

I was so glad to stumble upon this book at my local bookstore, as I am always looking for new books for my nine year old daughter. I am pretty tired of all those extremely raunchy books that they are marketing to her age group, and was thrilled to find an alternative! This book is fun, refreshing, wholesome without being preachy, and really taps into that tween age group so well. It made me want to be a kid again, and I particularly loved all the small details about things like penny candy and stressing about boys that seemed so real. The author must have children this age, because she really nails it. Another thing I appreciated, as did my daughter, is that the central character, (Hillary) is dealing with the impending divorce of her parents. It was great for my daughter to read about the very real emotions that she is going through, because she could totally relate. I will definitely recommend this book to my friends and their children.

Hillary's parents have split up, so she's particularly happy to be spending time with her father's relatives. Since she and her three cousins --- Phoebe, Neeve, and Kate --- have all turned twelve, they get to stay an entire summer without their parents, at Grandmother Gee's big house on Gull Island. Grandmother Gee's house is absolutely perfect for a summer with Hillary's beloved cousins --- huge and rambling, with hidden nooks and many cozy corners. It comes complete with a view of the nearby ocean and a swimming pool. The cousins, all so different and yet all so very Callahan, are ecstatic to be spending the summer together. As Gee says, "Cousins last forever." Hillary longs to prove to her father, and to herself, that she's a true Callahan. She decides that the best way would be to revive a game her father and uncles once played against another island family, the Bickets, in which each family competed to plant their flag on a certain small gull-shaped island. Hillary plans to have the Callahan flag firmly planted on the proper island by the time her dad arrives for a family reunion. But she can't do it alone. Can she talk her less adventurous cousins into joining her? When Hillary suggests the flag-planting scheme, only Neeve is eager to begin the adventure. Neeve manages to sway Kate and Phoebe by suggesting that the game will cheer Hillary up, and help her have a happy summer in spite of her parents' divorce. Even with all the cousins (more or less) willing, there are other obstacles to Hillary's goal. The girls must find and equip a boat, and learn to sail it. They need to find the right gull-shaped island. Unfortunately, unfriendly Sloan Bicket learns of their scheme and seems snottily determined to uphold the Bicket honor. Will Hillary attain her goal before her father arrives? If she does, will it result in an all-out feud between the two families? This first book in the Callahan Cousins series is irresistibly cozy. It manages to have an old-fashioned flavor while remaining totally "today." While the reader learns a bit about Ireland, ocean tides, islands, boats, and other subjects, the teaching is understated enough to be interesting without overpowering the story. Although the setting and some of the characters (such as Gee, the grandmother) may seem a bit too good to be true to some, others will adore their utter perfection. THE CALLAHAN COUSINS: SUMMER BEGINS is refreshingly sweet-tempered; it decidedly is not gossipy, sarcastic or edgy. Readers, myself included, will eagerly anticipate the next book in the series.    --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon ([email protected]

I highly recommend this story. My friends and I all loved it and it reminds us of our group. I am so happy that it is going be a series of books because I am waiting to start on the next one. Definitely read this as it is a really fun book.