Across the Pond

January 1, 2021
A new life in a new country does not, at first, bring the fresh start Callie hoped for. Seventh grader Callie; her 7-year-old brother, Jax; and their parents leave San Diego after inheriting a castle in the Scottish countryside. Callie's parents, who as grad students rented a cottage on the grounds and became close to the late owner, Lady Whittington-Spence, begin much-needed renovations. Callie, who departed California ostracized by her friends, imagines the cachet of being the exotic American in her new school. However, while the ebullient Jax quickly settles in, Callie embarrasses herself on her first visit to the local school. Burning with shame, she persuades her parents to let her try home schooling and (eventually) makes friends with Sid, the prickly granddaughter of her parents' gardener. Most excitingly, she uncovers a journal kept by one Pippa Spence when she was evacuated to the Highlands during World War II. Pippa was a keen bird-watcher, and, as Callie reads her journal, excerpts of which are interspersed, and explores the grounds and its bird life with Sid, she starts to put down roots and gain a new perspective on painful events back home. This character-driven story of introspection and growth will appeal to thoughtful readers. The intensely awkward self-consciousness of the middle school years is presented with realistic sensitivity and insight. Main characters are White, and there is natural, realistic diversity in the supporting cast. An emotionally perceptive story of awakening compassion for self and others. (Fiction. 10-14)

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January 18, 2021
Seventh grader Callie, who is white, can’t wait to trade her “small” San Diego existence for life in the sprawling Scottish castle her parents have inherited from Lady Whittington-Spence, a noblewoman from whom they once rented a cottage on the grounds. Callie’s life in Scotland is far from perfect, however: the castle is badly in need of repair, and the kids at her new school seem no different from the classmates who turned against her at home. She begs to be homeschooled, but her parents will only agree if she chooses a social activity. Callie opts to join a local bird-watching club and, despite the disappointing club’s sexist leader and obnoxious all-boy membership, develops a passion for birds. She also connects with two kindred spirits—club member Raj, who is of Indian descent, and Sid, the strawberry-blond granddaughter of her parents’ landscaper—and finds the diary of Pippa Spence, which details her evacuation to the Highlands during WWII and offers insight into the social nature of starlings. McCullough (We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire), who lived in a Scottish castle as a young child, writes with compassion and knowledge as she traces Callie’s ups and downs in a new country alongside her burgeoning, awkwardly won knowledge of friendship and self. Ages 10–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret.

February 15, 2021
Grades 4-7 Painfully ostracized by her former friends in San Diego, Callie is ready for a fresh start. But when her family moves to a small Scottish community and starts renovating the dilapidated castle that her parents have inherited, she just can't face the prospect of a new school. Her parents agree to homeschooling if she will participate in an activity with other kids, so she reluctantly joins a birdwatching club. Sid, a neighbor close to Callie's age, is initially hostile and later seems indifferent, but Callie perseveres and befriends her as well as Raj, an amiable local boy who enjoys birding. Meanwhile, Callie discovers the journal of a girl who recorded the birds she spotted in Scotland after her evacuation from London in 1939. McCullough's novel aptly portrays Callie as a girl rebounding from a painful experience and trying to reinvent herself in a new place, inspired and heartened by the words of a displaced girl during WWII. With appealing jacket art, a distinctive setting, and an involving narrative, this inviting book delivers a good story.

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