The Callahan Cousins: Summer Begins

The Callahan Cousins #1

by Elizabeth Doyle Carey

School Library Journal: Grade 3-6-In this first book in the series, the 12-year-old Callahan cousins all converge on their beloved grandmother for a summer of excitement. The gang consists of cheerful, upbeat, Kate; worldly, eccentric Neeve; ambitious, enthusiastic Hillary; and helpful, intellectual Phoebe. The 10-week visit gives the girls a great view of lovely Gull Island, where their family has been involved in a long-standing feud with the Bicket family. Hillary decides to continue the feud that had died down over the years, which results in a scary trip in a leaking boat. In the end, she is the one who actually brings about peace between the two families. This accessible, contemporary story features fun-loving cousins and their wise, thoughtful grandmother as they learn a great deal about their family and themselves. A good choice for fans of the "American Girls" series (Pleasant Co.).-Andrea Tarr, Corona Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Booklist: Gr. 4-6. Think of it as "chicklit lite" as a quartet of 12-year-old cousins spend a summer with Grandma Gee on Gull Island off the New England coast. Neeve is the sophisticated one, Phoebe is bookish, Kate is a craft maven, but the first book in the Callahan Cousins series is told from the point-of-view of athletic Hillary, whose parents are getting divorced. Grandma's huge house has been in the family for generations, and there's never a lack of money. An old feud with another island family moves Hillary to learn to sail, motivate her cousins, and eventually, of course, "do the right thing" and get past her parents' separation. Feelings are described in diminutives ("a tiny bit upset"), there are a couple of cute boys, and the local culture includes lots of shopping and ice cream. Familiar series fare; unfortunately, the small typeface might turn off some readers. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserve

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Summer, Young Adult, Contemporary, Young Readers

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Liz Carey is the author of 43 published books for young readers. She was also the Publisher and co-founder of Dunemere Books, a boutique publisher of travel fiction; a former children's book editor (Golden Books, Workman, Planet Dexter) and bookseller (The Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, MA). Liz lives on Long Island with her husband, three sons, a high-maintenance cat named Yankee and a chunky Pug named Noolah. Please visit www.elizabethdoylecarey.com.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. It has a bit of a timeless feel despite being written in 2005 (think Penderwicks) and I loved the descriptions of summertime life on an island in New England. This was the perfect armchair travel for me to escape the awful smoke from this summer of terrible wildfires here in the west! I enjoyed the characters -- the cousins are the typical variety -- each girl has a different personality and interests,the quiet one, the sporty one, the quirky one etc. -- you tend to get with these books with a gaggle of siblings/cousins/friends but I mostly found them well-drawn and authentic. While I found the main plot thread irksome for part of the book, it actually resolved with more integrity and empathy than I had expected. I enjoyed the bits about sailing and found we received the right information to help non-sailors understand some rudimentary points without being over-the-top on the details.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me just explain: it's entirely my wife's fault I read this book - not only does she leave her public library job (hence cutting off my easy holds-delivered-to-my-door access), but she takes a job at a school library and picks up loads of nothing but school-age books to read.

Having dug through all the "boy books," adventures, fantasy, anything halfway cool - well, there's picture books left, and the Callahans. And having grown out of my The Very Hungry Caterpillar phase, I listened to my wife and picked up the Callahan Cousins. "It's a nice girl book. It'll be just like the Penderwicks." (Just for the record, nothing is like the Penderwicks, whom I look forward to each new installment almost as much as Harry Potter.)

Still, it's a good old-fashioned (but up-to-date) family story, the girls are intelligent & there's an actual point to the story without getting all crazy BFF teenage girl stuff. Not sure I'm up for volume 2, we'll see what the next trip to the library gets me, but I'd recommend this book to teen/pre-teen girls for sure, plus it's got a bit of adventure for boys & anybody with an interest in sailing and New England island life.

[Carolynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first in a series of summertime adventures of four cousins, Neeve, Hillary, Phoebe, and Kate. Lovers of wholesome, family oriented series like the Betsy-Tacy stories are likely to be the best audience for this new series. Laid on the coastal community of Gull Island (Rhode Island?)they follow the adventures of four 12 year olds on their first summer vacation away from parents. Though the characters are somewhat stereotypical (talkative Neeve, domestic Kate, athletic Hillary, and bookworm Phoebe) the New England setting is appealing, and Grandmother "Gee," with whom the girls stay, is an ideally nurturing grandmother. Predictably, much of the summer's activities center on getting even with wealthy Sloan Bicket (think _Mean Girls_), whose family were long-time rivals of the Callahans. The "Capture the Flag" effort is kind of goofy; I would have enjoyed a more meaningful challenge. But I always like lists in books, so I particularly like the lists of supplies, foodstuffs, and gear the girls buy at the quaint local shops. Gee is very generous!
If you like The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick or The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaefer you will probably like these.

[Sandym24 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and charming grade school novel that brings back all of the nostalgia of being a kid in the summer time .

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable little book. Makes me dream of summer time and all the fun with that. Ahhhh....and its not hard to dream because its 75 right now!!!! srsly! anyway cute book, a couple of cons but overall nice relaxing read.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

These cousins' friendship is totally #goals. Light, happy, and intriguing with a touch of mystery - a must read for all ages!

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the overall story is 3 stars, the actual writing bothered me too much & made it not for me, personally. Everything that occurred was written off page, or in past tense. Instead of experiencing a moment with the character, the reader was repeatedly just told “oh btw they did x and then y”. The pacing felt really slow even though the timeline of events was quite short. A lot of speech patterns were jarring & inconsistent. The name dropping of book titles was clunky & pointless & pretentious. (WHAT teen in the entire world has A Little Princess as their favorite book??!) This probably would’ve been a book I’d have picked up at the dead of summer as an adolescent, desperate for entertainment, yet adored for the premise. The whole situation is one my teen self would’ve jealously drooled over the prospects of: a whole summer without parents? Running-at-will all over a New England island? Taking sailing lessons? With friends my own age? In a coastal nookful abode that has a pool??? For a whole summer????? SIGN. ME. UP.

I really enjoyed the idea of cousins as pals. I appreciated that they lived far apart, but still had a close relationship. It was nice to see that they were each quite different in personality, but still found ways to get along & enjoy one another. Each cousin personality was a singular personality trope, and I found that basic & lazy writing. If a preteen is going through a divorce, this story would be helpful & hopeful. I am pleased to see the overarching themes of this book being so wholesome: identity & belonging, honoring family name, respect for others, fun, friendship, acceptance, etc. And omg I cannot thank the heavens enough that finally an author made telling adults what’s going on an actual positive. I definitely want to be a cool grandma that has time for my grandkids & is a desirable home to return to & a summer oasis.

I am irrationally perpetually & forever disgruntled that Neeve’s name is not spelled Niamh, though. WHY. She is even literally Irish! What a spoiled opportunity.

[Bobbi G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only wish I had read this book when I was 12. It's everything a 12 year old dreams of; a summer away from parents, living with your 3 cousins and grandmother, and a secret adventure. One know it's a good kids book when you, as a so-called adult, can hardly put the book down.

[JoAnn Keeton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet series about 4 cousins and their summer at their grandmother’s.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute summer read

[Jenben8426 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was cute for 10-13 year old girls. It moved pretty slow and although had a great story angle, the author didn't realize its full potential.

The story is about four, twelve year old girls who are the Callahan cousins. When a Callahan turns twelve they get to travel to their Grandmother Gee's home on Gull Island as kind of a right of passage. One of the cousins, Hillary feels her identity is a little lost because her parents have just announced their divorce, and Hillary doesn't feel like a complete Callahan. She has a daring plan for the group to relive a prank their fathers all did when they were their age, so she can prove that she is a Callahan. The girls learn about what it means to honor a family name, show respect to others, have fun, trust each other, and grow closer as family and friends.

The only big thing that disappointed me was that the Lord's name is taken in vain probably about 4 times by the girls which didn't need to happen. It wasn't necessarily done in a mean or vicious way, but still done.

This is a 4 part series book with each of the four girls taking their turn to tell their story.

[Thea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very exciting book for 10-12 year old girls who just want to have fun in their summer. The Callahan Cousins have similarities with MY own cousins, except the thing is that my cousins are both boys and girls. My cousins and I are like the Callahan Cousins since we just want to have fun and we are young of course!!! I wanna read the second!!!

[Annabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was FANTASTIC!!!!!!! I stayed up until past eleven reading this story. I couldn't put it down. Everyone would love this story and I cannot wait to read the next two books in the series. What a great plot!!!!!

[Meredith Henning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great summer girls read!

[Lori Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book about these 4 cousins. They are staying with their grandma for the summer and pick up on an ongoing feud that has been around for a long time. The adventures of these 4 girls to try to keep the feud going or is it to patch it up, will leave you refreshed. So well written and so very good.

[Princess Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little book

[Ann Lilyea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book.

[Gabby Pine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book growing up and I could read it over and over again every summer

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread of a childhood favorite- nostalgic

[Seekers150 Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about 4 cousins who go to there grandmothers house for the summer at this island called Gulls Island. The fours girls names are Hillary, Phoboe, Kate, and Neve. The family the Callahans have a family tradition.The tradition is when have a contest with this other family the Bickets( only the little kids do this that are in the two family no grownups) . The contest is that they have to plaint this flag on this little island out in the ocean ( near there harbor). The last flag on that island is the winner. Also one of the big things about the contest is that they are aloud to take the other persons flag out and put theirs in, and take the other persons with them. To find out who wins the contest and the drama between the 4 cousins and Salon(the Bicket girl) i would recommend this book for mostly girls who like adventures and a little drama. Lastly one of the best things about this book is that once you finish a chapter of page you want to go onto the next on right.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in The Callahan Cousins series by Elizabeth Doyle Carey.

It seems overly saccharine and has an old fashioned feel, so I was surprised when I heard mention of current technology and saw that the story was first published in 2005.

I listened to the story narrated on audio CD by Stina Nielsen and it was an entertaining, if highly predictable tale.

interesting quote (from hardcover edition with
ISBN13 9780316736909):

"If you stick to your schedule and follow your plan, you'll be absolutely fine." (p. 196)

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hillary, Neeve, Phoebe, and Kate are first cousins who are all twelve years old. According to family tradition, this is their year to spend the entire summer with their Grandma Gee, without parents! Hillary is the focus of this first book in the series. This year, her parents divorced and her father moved out. Feeling disconnected from her father’s side of the family, Hillary plans to renew an old tradition shared by her father and his brothers as they grew up in Grandma Gee’s home. It will take a lot of planning, but first, she must convince the other girls to join in.
• Directed at a middle school audience
• A very simple story, but entertaining
• Distinctive characters, even if they do seem overly mature for twelve year olds
• Following books each focus on a different cousin.

[Danielle Routh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgia couldn't quite carry this one to four stars. It's crazy to me how mature Hillary and the others (but especially Hillary) seemed to me when I read this at the age of ten (13 years ago!) as well as how much everyone puts up with these twelve-year-olds on the island. It's still a good story, maybe a bit cliched in places, but I appreciated how much the divorce of Hillary's parents factored into the story--it gave the plot more depth and is also something many kids can, unfortunately, relate to. I had only the first book when I was younger; we'll see now if the others hold up.

2025: Seven years later, this holds up better than I initially thought. And it's almost Farmer Boy-esque in its description of food. Bumping up to four stars.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't get into it as much as I thought I would, mostly because probably half of the book is a summary of what happened as opposed to the author actually "showing" what's going on. I also never really felt connected to the characters and could not really feel Hillary emotions. Phoebe and Kate were very flat characters. But overall it's a cute book.

As a parental warning, there are quite a few "Oh, my God" and "For God's sake" and quite a few moments of adults drinking. Other than that it's very clean.

[Marianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wholesome story about four cousins who, at the age of 12, are spending the summer with their grandmother. This first books is all about their working towards a goal and achieving it. I think the only issue I might have with this book is how easy it is for the girls to buy all the things they need, which is a lot!

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually the only author I've ever talked to. I emailed her talking about how I was debating on piercing my ears thanks to this book. I did. I hated it. But she was so sweet in her replies, and the books are great for girls. The writing style is really quaint and the characters are sweet and fun. Just a very nice comforting kind of book for when you're growing up awkwardly.

[Sunnyvale Librarian]

Four girl cousins, all 12 years old, spend the summer with their grandmother at her home on Gull Island. They learn about tradition, family legends, old grudges, and how to sail. They secretly plan a dangerous adventure. Above all, they grow into mature young women and have tons of fun in the bargain. (This review is of the audio edition of the book.)

[Eliza Noel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. I loved it at first. The setting was amazing. But... I didn't care for the characters very much and I couldn't really relate to the divorce aspect of the story.

If this book looks good to you don't let my review stop you from reading it. It just wasn't a good fit for me.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so good! I loved how each girl (cousin) had a way different personality than another girl.. This book is full of adventure and brings lots and lots of laughter~ I love it and recommend it to any girl!

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book series is great but not well known, but I think a lot of teens would enjoy this book if they like a fun book that also has a twist of mystery.