Cindy Callaghan

Three girls find a magic cookbook in the attic and start trying out recipes, only to discover that the Rule of Returns applies in a big way.
This is a case of the (Amazon) show being much better than the book, I'm afraid, and the show is quite a bit different, too. The girls in the book are borderline mean and only feel repentant, it seems, because they suffer consequences and not because they actually feel bad about any hurt they've caused. Plus, neither magic nor the backstory for the show more cookbook itself is nearly as interesting here. show less

Saltwater Secrets is a fun summer mystery for tween and early YA readers. Josie and Stella are half sisters who live with their mothers in Australia and NYC, respectively, who only see each other in the summer when they join their father on the Jersey shore. Saltwater Secrets takes place the summer before the sisters start high school. They have shared traditions and Shore friends. They are used to getting water ice, going to the fun house and storing special treasures in a box in a secret show more hiding place. This summer, the water ice place is gone, replaced by a trendy smoothie store, their treasure box has vanished, dead jellyfish start washing up in large numbers and the boardwalk seems unstable. The sisters investigate these occurrences along with their friend Dario and uncover a sinister scheme.
The characters are well developed and I liked the bond between the sisters and the portrayal of how they are transitioning into teenagers. Dario, their friend, was my favorite character. The story moves quickly and is told from both sister's alternating point of view, which added to the suspense. The environmental mystery was well constructed and added depth and interest to the story. Saltwater Secrets is an enjoyable middle grade mystery with a fun beach town setting. #BooksForwardFriends show less

The sequel to Just Add Magic. On one hand, the plots resolved themselves a bit more, which was nice. On the other hand, I really like the initial ambiguity of Just Add Magic (did they really curse Charlotte? Or would she have had blisters anyway?) whereas by this book it is much more heavy handed 'yes! The book is Magic and you are a Witch!'

It's fluff for late-primary/early-secondary school, they rollerblade and drink milkshakes, the very gentle romance plot never gets further than hand show more holding, and at the end everyone realises they should just have been nicer to mean people and then they wouldn't have been mean.

I do like it that the books have the recipes in the back of them. show less

Stella and Josie make good main characters. Teens going through puberty will relate to the dynamics of Stella and Josie. They are very relatable to teens. Why I could not relate so much is because of the dialect of the characters was juvenile. As the police even reacted the same as an adult trying to get the facts about the case, not who liked who or what someone was wearing.

Where the mystery was involved. It did seem to take a really long time to get to the case. It did not really come show more together until the last third of the story.

This is is a cute book. While, I did like it, I would have to say that the target audience of a younger reader is the right choice. Which, young teens could read this as there is no language or sex portrayed in this book. So, this is a clean read. show less