McCullough also spends time describing the small town life (slowing giving way to modernity as the family-owned stores of the past go out of business and chain stores move in) and playing up the comedic differences between American English and the words Callie learns from her new friends. Callie wonderfully gets to live in a castle, complete with locked trunks to spark the imagination and old diaries to give her (and readers) a glimpse of growing up in the 1940s. The setting will likely be one of the first things to attract readers to Across the Pond, and Joy McCullough makes sure to give Scotland a starring role. But the Scottish setting and Callie’s somewhat unusual new hobby–birding–will initially hook readers and then keep them engaged. Across the Pond is a fairly conventional middle-grade novel about growing up, making friends, and finding one’s place in the community. But Scotland does not turn out to be quite the new start Callie hoped, and she soon realizes that she will have new problems to confront.

Callie is initially excited to be leaving her old life behind–her friends were mean and she now has some anxiety about attending school and fitting in. Callie and her family move to Scotland when her parents decide to renovate an old castle left to them by a deceased friend. Will she ever be able to find her flock and make this strange new place feel like home?Īcross the Pond is a delightful travel novel sure to please readers who enjoy vicariously exploring other countries. But when she clashes with the club leader, she risks losing a set of friends all over again. Sure, it sounds unusual, but at least it’s not sports or performing. Inspired by a journal that she finds hidden in her bedroom, Callie decides to join a birding club. Her parents agree, on one condition: she has to participate in a social activity. So she comes up with the perfect solution: she’ll be homeschooled.

Plus, starting off on the wrong foot with the gardener’s granddaughter doesn’t help her nerves about making new friends. On top of that, she’s going to live in a real-life castle!īut as romantic as life in a castle sounds, the reality is a little less comfortable: it’s run-down, freezing, and crawling with critters. After a major friendship breakup in San Diego, moving overseas to Scotland gives her the perfect chance to reinvent herself. From the author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost comes a heartwarming story about new beginnings, burgeoning friendships, and finding your flock.Ĭallie can’t wait for her new life to start.

Across the Pond by Joy McCullough