The First Summer of Callie MaGee

by A. L. Tait

'The water in a rip current is always calmer than the waves on either side. Once in it, you’re best just to go with the flow.'

It’s the last summer before Callie starts high school and she’s been dragged along to yet another ‘family friends’ holiday. Determined to change her nerdy reputation, Callie sets out to make waves—but nothing is quite as she expects. Her usual ally, Sasha, has outgrown Callie; her nemesis, Mitch, has brought his cousin Owen along; and the boring south coast town of Sawyer’s Point has been rocked by a series of burglaries. Callie, Owen and Mitch decide to investigate the robberies, bringing them face to face with a local gang ... and a possible ghost.

But when Sasha goes missing, Callie must draw on all her smarts to find her friend, and discovers that being Callie McGee has its benefits. A middle-grade mystery about growing up, figuring things out, and solving the puzzle of who you are.

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2023

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sensitive and humorous coming-of-age story about 12 year old Callie McGee. Set on their annual summer holiday with friends, Callie is thinking dubiously about starting high school. She would like to be a stronger and more outgoing person but her over protective parents and those around her only see her as a brainy and boring girl. This summer Callie will learn to find her voice - and with a mystery to solve she’ll also need to be brave and strong.
Really enjoyed the Aussie flavour to this great tale.

[Wendy Bamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok little summer holiday mystery and coming of age story. Pretty hard transitioning from nerdy school girl to a pre teen that wants to be taken seriously as a human being, especially with ridiculous and annoying teasing boy cousins and an older slightly patronising girl cousin. I can see some our pre teen girls 10+ liking this one.

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled to get into this story and follow it along. The book suffers from the unfortunate occurance of the blurb describing 80% of the novel, meaning it felt like there was nothing new to come. There is a sweet coming-of-age (tween edition) story in this book, but it's a very quiet and slow read.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, great character, great message [Be yourself].