Early Reader Review: Saltwater Secrets by Cindy Callaghan

Source: From the publicity agent in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Saltwater Secrets by Cindy Callaghan
Publisher: Aladdin
Publication Date:  April 28, 2020

 

Format: Paperback ARC

Rating:







Goodreads Synopsis: 

A story of two sisters, one summer vacation, and one big mystery for them to solve.

Stella and Josie live for their summers at the boardwalk—each one a carbon copy of the last. Josie lives in Australia most of the year; her half-sister, Stella, lives in New Jersey. But every year, they come together for a beach vacation with their dad, and to make more memories. The real excitement for them is their secret special place under the boardwalk, where they hide their sister scrapbook, adding memories from each summer.

But this summer feels different. Josie isn’t the same—she’s turned into one of the popular girls that Stella can’t stand. Despite the rocky start to their vacation, they still go to their secret, special place under the boardwalk, adding memories to their sister scrapbook once again.

That is, until their place is discovered by the owners of the newest store—the Smoothie Factory, which replaced Josie’s favorite sweet spot. Not only have the owners of the Smoothie Factory discovered the cove, they are exploiting the natural habitat, and endangering marine life and everyone at the beach! It’s up to Josie and Stella to figure out how to stop their beloved boardwalk from disappearing for good.

Review: 
Stella and Josie are half-sisters and every year they get together over the summer at the New Jersey shore to spend time with their father. This year Stella is trying to reinvent herself in preparation for high school and Josie he just wants to have her normal good time.

The story is told in alternating points of you and also an alternating periods of time. The whole first part of the book is told from Stella’s point of view for the flashbacks and also for her time at the police station. Later in the book you get Josie’s point of you as well as Stella’s. For almost the whole book, the reader is left in the dark about what happened. All we know if that someone seems to be in the hospital and Stella is at the police station rehashing the whole story. It was a little obnoxious not knowing what happen but it was a very creative way of causing climax in the plot and having the reader really invested.

I enjoyed the book for the most part. I was sad that Stella was trying so hard and that she was ready to give up on traditions to be the cool kid the whole summer. I know that many of us went through this stage so preteen readers will fully understand it. However summer vacation away from home is the best tome to truly be yourself as a teen, you won’t see any one again and so why not just be your uncool awkward teen self? For that reason, I liked Josie more than Stella for a while and I was angry at Stella for the beginning of the book. Eventually they work it all out and have each other’s backs like a normal summer. They are good sisters overall, but they wouldn’t be sisters or teenage girls without some drama.

One thing that struck me as odd though was that they are at the shore to visit their dad for the summer but really they spend almost the whole time just together or with pier/summer friends. I would think if this is the only time of the year they spend with dad that he would want to have more family time.

Either way this was a fun book and great for a summer beach read. I left out a lot about the mystery and the conclusion from this review to keep is as spoiler-free as possible... being in the dark lends a lot to this one. Happy reading!