Sea Glass

by Rebecca Fraser

When eleven-year-old Cailin’s mother takes a contract job on Victoria’s eastern coast, Cailin’s holiday plans are ruined. Worse, they’re staying at her estranged grandfather’s shack at Whitefoam Cove. Cailin barely remembers him, let alone knows him.

Grandpa doesn’t have Wi-Fi, and his television is older than him. Memories of her father are everywhere and, to make matters worse, she’s left her cricket bat at home. How will she make the team now? And how will she keep in touch with her best friend, Josie? It’s going to be the worst summer ever.

But life with Grandpa proves to be anything but boring. There’s treasure to be found at Whitefoam Cove! But just when cricket-mad Cailin and Grandpa finally feel like they’re making a connection, disaster strikes…and Cailin knows it’s all her fault.

Sea Glass is a coming-of-age family drama for readers aged 7-12 that explores how, despite difference and disaster, a generational gap is bridged. This contemporary Australian middle grade novel celebrates the importance of family and environment…and proves you’re never too old to go treasure hunting.

Genres: Middle Grade, Family, Childrens

120 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Rebecca Fraser lives and writes on Bunurong Land on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. By day she’s a Library Officer; by night she writes award-winning fiction for children and adults.
Her work has won and been recognised across numerous awards including Adaptable: Turning Page to Screen, The 2023 Readings Children’s Prize, Aurealis Awards, Australian Shadows Awards, Ditmars, and Mornington Peninsula Shire Mayor’s Writing Award.

Rebecca’s publications include three middle grade novels, a junior fiction and young adult novel, a collection of short fiction, and over sixty short stories, poems, and articles in various anthologies, journals, and magazines.

Rebecca chairs and participates in panels at festivals and hosts author ‘in conversations’ at libraries, as well as facilitating creative writing workshops for authors of every age and ability.

She has served as a convenor and on the judging panel of nationally-recognised literary competitions, was the co-founder and now a sponsor of the national youth competition Little Stories, Big Ideas (now run by Express Media) and a proud participant in the Australian Author Pen Pals program.

Rebecca is a member of CBCA, SCBWI, ASA and Writers Victoria.
Say G’day at www.rebeccafraser.com

Reviews

[Julia]

Just a really sweet and lovely little book about family and finding treasures.

[Clare Rhoden]

This is a sweet story of modern family, told with beautiful, delicate understanding of all the characters of all ages. The natural wonder of sea glass (that opaque, smooth, coloured glass that results from ordinary glass being rolled around the ocean for years) serves as a lovely simile for transformation, for possibilities arising from disasters - not everything will turn out badly, no matter how bad the situation seems. It might feel like it's gonna be the worst holiday ever, but you never know...But no spoilers here.
A great, hugely readable story for the younger end of middle grade right up to elderly grandparents! I devoured it in one go. It's also set at the seaside at Christmas, so PERFECT to put in your present drawer for Santa to deliver.
I kind of hope that we will get more adventures from this delightful small family! More Cailin, Mum and Grandpa please. And more cricket. 5 stars from me.

[R.A.]

Full disclosure that I am biased as I edited this beautiful book. But it’s such a sweet and lovely book. Rebecca brings alive a sweet family relationship and the amazing value of something thrown away.

[Danielle Hughes]

This book will transport you to a secluded, sun drenched beach and have you searching for your own treasures in no time. This one gave me all the feels 🥰

[Ruthie]

Beautifully written!

[Toni D’Alia]

A beautiful, emotional, must-read story about love and family. Well done Rebecca Fraser on writing such a heartwarming book

[Anna Davidson]

A super sweet story about family, grief and treasure hunting. I particularly loved that this is a serious (albeit sweet) story for middle grade readers that isn’t terribly long; perfect for young readers ready to step up with their reading without being daunted by the length of the story.

[Benita Tiernan]

A delightful little book for young readers, and parents to read aloud. Wholesome!

[Andrea Rowe]

🐚 I love SEA GLASS by Rebecca Fraser - it's such super writing and setting, and a perfect family drama story for readers aged 7-12 years.
🌊 The main character Calin, as well as her eccentric Grandpa are relatable characters, and I adored hanging out in Grandpa's beach shack and along the shoreline at Whitefoam Cove.
🔎 Being a big beach forager, I’m also now an expert on the ways of sea glass treasure hunting. I can’t wait to drop my new knowledge at the next bbq!
🦀 This story scuttled into my heart, reminding me of my own coast childhood where beach treasures and roaming adventures spilled sand onto my scratchy sheets at Grandma’s house
📘SEA GLASS reminds me of those books I read as a kid purely for the joy of the story, for the read at breakfast and at lights out by torchlight pleasure. A classic summer read!
☀️I loved Rebecca’s beautiful observations and relatable scenes weaving in single parenting, intergenerational relationships, small-town tourism, milestones, and growing up, and grief and loss. They were represented realistically without being preachy-teachy.
🏏 Sporty kids will love this book. Calin is a super keen cricketer and gives the reader great insights into an outdoorsy protagonist and her motivations.
💙 SEA GLASS is perfect for young readers stepping up into middle-grade novels. It’s not too big a book to overwhelm them - I reckon it’d leave them with a feeling of accomplishment as they advance their reading.
🐙 Grandpa and his sea glass are treasures! And Calin is a super likeable character navigating tricky changes. Kids need to see themselves and their stories in more books like SEA GLASS.

[Kristy Hetzel]

Really sweet little book about simple, but priceless, things in life.

[Tracey]

Absolutely delightful. One of those books that is so beautifully written you can’t put it down. Highly recommend!

[Steven Paulsen]

This book is so heartfelt and well written! Loved it! Review to follow…

[Julliana Farinto]

Lovely and Emotional

I love how emotional this book is without really traumatizing the reader, making it perfect for greens ( 9 to 12 years old).

[Anne Hamilton]

This is a book about treasure: treasure-hunting, Treasure Island and, more than anything else, the treasure of family.

Cailin's mum has a short-term contract at a coastal hospital not far from the place where her grandfather has his beach-front shack. Cailin was a baby when she last saw him but he's happy to mind her while her mum works.

It's not what Cailin wants. She's away from her friends, there's no wifi in the house, the television is out-of-the-ark erratic and grandpa is a loner who is apparently obsessed with collecting sea glass. Throughout the house are reminders of her father who was killed in an accident - his own sea glass collection, his copy of Treasure Island. Grandpa takes Cailin beach-combing and teaches her to spot true sea glass and to throw back, like an undersized fish, the glass that's still shiny and needs a bit more time in the ocean. He tells her about the different kinds and their comparative rarities - his "white whale" is a piece of black glass.

Gradually Cailin and Grandpa become closer - until Cailin writes a postcard to her friend and leaves it out on the table. In trying to impress Josie and assure her she misses her company, Cailin describes her situation as boring and ugly. Grandpa finds the postcard and is obviously hurt. That night he suffers a heart attack... and Cailin is sure she's responsible. Can she repair the damage to her relationship with someone she's come to love?

[Judy Wollin]

Rebecca Fraser has written a relatively short but powerful story addressing a child’s anxiety of leaving behind the known and building a new life, temporarily, with a grandparent she doesn’t know.
Cailin is very unhappy about spending the summer living with her mother and a grandfather she doesn’t know in a beach house away from her friends and favourite places. Her anxiety is heightened when there is no internet, and the TV doesn’t work. Her feelings begin to thaw as she finds her deceased father’s memorabilia around the house.
Her relationship with her grandfather begins to warm as he collects sea glass with him, just as her father did. Cailin and her grandfather’s health threaten this fragile friendship. Can they rebuild their relationship?
This book is a great read, either alone or with an adult, addressing anxiety, fear of change, and finding the good in differences.
Recommended for readers aged eight years and older.

[Sarah Bacaller]

This is an engaging story that both my 8 year old and 11 year old thoroughly enjoyed. The setting is one of my favourite things about the book — a beach hut on the windswept Victorian coastline — and the story revolves around young Cailin, who develops an unexpected and heartwarming relationship with her semi-estranged grandfather.
The story is accessible and relatable for kids of all ages, while the text also offers aspects that will challenge strong readers, such as a smattering of complex sentences and a vocabulary range that keeps the story fresh.
An excellent, affirming read, and a story that feels local to the Aussie context in the best possible way.

[Linsey Painter]

Rebecca Fraser’s Sea Glass is a beautiful treasure.
Short and sweet and filled with heart, Rebecca has uncovered all the gems as we get to know Cailin Lockwood who has to spend her summer holidays with a grandfather she doesn’t know, in a place far from home and everything she loves.
This gorgeous story about making room in our lives for family and new experiences, even when it costs us, is one you’ll want to share with your friends and loved ones.
Perfect for ages 7-12

[Kim Robyn Smith]

A beautifully written tale for all ages. My granddaughter and I became emotionally invested in the characters from the start. We kept reading as we wanted to discover the outcome of this amazing story. After reading, we were so excited to find our first piece of sea glass along the shore! We highly recommend this terrific read.

[Carolynnwrites]

I LOVED this story so much. I was immediately transported to a 'familiar to all' beach location and became invested in the characters and their love for each other. I've read it twice now and it still gives me 'all the feels' and I can no longer walk along a beach without searching for sea glass.
Rebecca is a gifted writer and I would happily read anything she writes.

[Sara Stock]

3.75⭐️. I listened to the audiobook with my 8.5 year old daughter. While it was a cute story it was still a bit old for her to take in particularly in this format.

[Tanya Shliahov]

I loved this book. It made me feel like I was at the beach and now I want some sea glass of my own.