After All, You're Callie Boone

by Winnie Mack

Overview

"Oh, fishsticks, tartar, and a side of fries!"

Runaway ferrets, former BFF drama-trauma, and one GIGANTIC (and very, very public) belly flop. No doubt about it, Callie Boone's summer is CRUMMY. The only things keeping her afloat are dive practice with her dad and a top-secret Olympic swim dream. Then a boy named Hoot-who is NOT her boyfriend!-moves in next door and turns her world upside down and right-side up.

Just when things start looking up, real disaster strikes and Callie feels like she's stuck at the top of the high diving board with no way down. What if she can't fix all the things that need fixing? She'll just have to try! With a little luck, a solid plan, swimming, and a whole lot of teamwork, she just might make it through.

After all, she's Callie Boone!

After All, You're Callie Boone is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250027351
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	06/25/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.34(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.53(d)
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Winnie Mack was raised in Vancouver, where she was on the Otters swim team until she decided she “otter” stick with soccer. She has written lots of adult novels under another secret name, but After All, You're Callie Boone is her first novel for young readers. She now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband Mike, who is a much better diver than she is.

Editorial Reviews

Callie's process of self-discovery is realistic and appealing, as are the story's themes about the importance and rewards of compassion and support.” —Booklist

“Good pacing leads the story to a climactic family tragedy in which Callie believably realizes the true meaning of friendship as well as the value in a strong, supportive, if quirky, family. Dive in, this story is fine.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

In this affable, sweet story, 11-year-old Callie Boone is devastated after her best friend inexplicably abandons her just before summer break. Her family, "officially the weirdest family on the block," with her former drill sergeant mother, ferret-loving uncle, and absentminded grandmother, doesn't make life any easier. When "total skateboarder" Hoot moves in next door and is determined to hang out with her, Callie thinks her summer can't get any worse. But Hoot turns out to be a supportive sidekick, as Callie trains with her father to make the diving team. Mack does an admirable job of making Callie realistically self-absorbed and dramatic, leaving readers both sympathetic toward and frustrated with her as a result. Callie's story moves along in a leisurely fashion--until the last few chapters, in which a heated argument erupts between Hoot and Callie and Callie's father suffers a heart attack. Young female readers should be attracted to Mack's earnest characters and hopeful message. Ages 9-12. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 4–6—Eleven-year-old Callie's summer has gotten off to a bad start. Her large extended family, "the weirdest family on the block," embarrasses her in full view of the neighbors and her ex-best friend, Amy, who has dumped her in favor of snotty Samantha, leaving Callie feeling hurt and betrayed. Callie loves to swim but a humiliating belly flop finds her banned from the community pool. She yearns for a friend who still prefers riding bikes to mooning over boys. Then Hoot moves in next door and becomes an unexpected pal. The summer turns out to be an eventful one after all, with diving lessons with her dad, the chance to try out for an elite diving team, and a near-tragedy at home. Callie is a well-limned child with recognizable flaws and a rueful inner voice. The novel sometimes feels overfull of characters and story lines, but Mack's well-drawn personalities and lighthearted touch keep the narrative lively and engaging. Youngsters will find themselves laughing at Callie and her colorful family, even as they recognize themselves in her story.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

School Library Journal

Callie's summer looks glum. Hurt from being inexplicably dumped by her best friend and then banned from the community pool after a very public belly-flop, things seem like they can only get worse. Enter new next-door neighbor, Hoot, an easygoing boy who, refreshingly, does not get caught up in what everybody thinks. Soon Hoot's companionship and her beloved father's dedicated diving lessons help Callie evolve from a self-absorbed, self-conscious, easily influenced and rather self-pitying little girl into an understanding, hardworking, thicker-skinned and confident young adult. Mack has a knack for getting her well-developed characters' voices right, especially Callie's when she is caught in yet another embarrassing moment: "I felt hollow inside, like there was nothing but stale air where my bones and organs were supposed to be." Good pacing leads the story to a climactic family tragedy in which Callie believably realizes the true meaning of friendship as well as the value in a strong, supportive, if quirky, family. Dive in, this story is fine. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews