News & Reviews
May 9, 2021 REVIEW of Summer Lifeguards on the blog Mrs. Yingling Reads
(Thank you so much, Mrs. Yingling!)
Doyle, Elizabeth Carey. Summer Lifeguards (Summer Lifeguards #1)
May 4th 2021 by Sourcebooks Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Jenna is completely devoted to doing well on the swim team, since she sees it as her ticket to either the Olympics or the US Naval Academy. Her family farms. Selena wants to be an actress, so wants to try out for the school play, and does a lot on social media to further her brand. Her Ecuadorean parents are the caretakers of a large estate on Cape Cod. Ziggy's family is very into living off the grid, and Piper lives with her mom and grandmother, and helps run the family horse farm. All four are friends, and are very concerned when a huge storm is supposed to hit the Cape. While Ziggy's mom thinks all of the warnings are a fake government conspiracy, the other families take it seriously. Jenna is distraught that her parents won't let her go to a swim meet that has not been canceled because of the storm, even though her arch rival, Franny, is going to be there. Once the storm ramps up, and people are evacuated to the local middle school, there is plenty to occupy the girls. Piper's family has a lot to do because of the livestock, and because the daughter of a rich couple who have a nearby summer home has run away from her boarding school, and they are trying to keep her safe. The girls help out at the school, and are inspired by seeing the local student lifeguards who are helping, and make plans of their own! While their town is hit hard by the storm, the fact that people banded together kept the problems to a minimum.
Strengths: This is a great description of what it is like to have to endure a hurricane along the sea coast! All of the details about preparations and evacuation are great. The characters seem representative of the diversity of the population in Cape Cod, and they all have their own interests and family situations. I especially liked Piper's family farm, and the descriptions of the fancy summer homes. These would be fantastic books to read by a boring suburban Midwest pool in the summer!
Weaknesses: As with any book with multiple characters (Frederick's Mother-Daughter Book Club, Buyea's Because of Mr. Terupt), I had trouble keeping everyone straight at the beginning, but the subsequent volumes should concentrate more on one character.
What I really think: There should be more books about surviving natural disasters, like My Life as a Meme's great depiction of California fires or Bishop's 14 Hollow Road's coverage of a tornado. Definitely buying the entire series! It's a great escapist read to the beach along the East Coast, which in Ohio is impossibly exotic. I love that the girls will be working as life guards and look forward to all of the adventures and drama!
(Thank you so much, Mrs. Yingling!)
Doyle, Elizabeth Carey. Summer Lifeguards (Summer Lifeguards #1)
May 4th 2021 by Sourcebooks Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Jenna is completely devoted to doing well on the swim team, since she sees it as her ticket to either the Olympics or the US Naval Academy. Her family farms. Selena wants to be an actress, so wants to try out for the school play, and does a lot on social media to further her brand. Her Ecuadorean parents are the caretakers of a large estate on Cape Cod. Ziggy's family is very into living off the grid, and Piper lives with her mom and grandmother, and helps run the family horse farm. All four are friends, and are very concerned when a huge storm is supposed to hit the Cape. While Ziggy's mom thinks all of the warnings are a fake government conspiracy, the other families take it seriously. Jenna is distraught that her parents won't let her go to a swim meet that has not been canceled because of the storm, even though her arch rival, Franny, is going to be there. Once the storm ramps up, and people are evacuated to the local middle school, there is plenty to occupy the girls. Piper's family has a lot to do because of the livestock, and because the daughter of a rich couple who have a nearby summer home has run away from her boarding school, and they are trying to keep her safe. The girls help out at the school, and are inspired by seeing the local student lifeguards who are helping, and make plans of their own! While their town is hit hard by the storm, the fact that people banded together kept the problems to a minimum.
Strengths: This is a great description of what it is like to have to endure a hurricane along the sea coast! All of the details about preparations and evacuation are great. The characters seem representative of the diversity of the population in Cape Cod, and they all have their own interests and family situations. I especially liked Piper's family farm, and the descriptions of the fancy summer homes. These would be fantastic books to read by a boring suburban Midwest pool in the summer!
Weaknesses: As with any book with multiple characters (Frederick's Mother-Daughter Book Club, Buyea's Because of Mr. Terupt), I had trouble keeping everyone straight at the beginning, but the subsequent volumes should concentrate more on one character.
What I really think: There should be more books about surviving natural disasters, like My Life as a Meme's great depiction of California fires or Bishop's 14 Hollow Road's coverage of a tornado. Definitely buying the entire series! It's a great escapist read to the beach along the East Coast, which in Ohio is impossibly exotic. I love that the girls will be working as life guards and look forward to all of the adventures and drama!
Junior Lifeguards has won some more awards!
• 2018 Purple Dragonfly Award Honorable Mention for Best Tween Book Series
• 2018 Purple Dragonfly Award Honorable Mention for Best Tween Book in Sports category
• 2018 Shortlisted for the CIBA Gertrude Warner Tween Book Award
• 2018 Purple Dragonfly Award Honorable Mention for Best Tween Book Series
• 2018 Purple Dragonfly Award Honorable Mention for Best Tween Book in Sports category
• 2018 Shortlisted for the CIBA Gertrude Warner Tween Book Award
Liz Carey on KidLit TV Again!
Click here to watch Liz and her niece Lily celebrate the publication of MAYDAY by making nachos on KidLit TV with host Rocco Staino.
Click here to watch Liz and her niece Lily celebrate the publication of MAYDAY by making nachos on KidLit TV with host Rocco Staino.
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Liz Carey on KidLit TV
Click here to watch Liz chatting with journalist
Rocco Staino on YouTube's Storymakers.
Liz chatted with LONG ISLAND PULSE's Anna Halkidis
about JUNIOR LIFEGUARDS.
Click here to read the article.
Liz and her sister Carrie Doyle were interviewed by journalist Jenny Powers
for her podcast "Broadcast: Running with Heels."
You can find it on iTunes.
Click here for the link.
Junior Lifeguards Series Press:
#27 of Book Riot’s “100 Must Read Middle Grade Books for the Summer”
“Delivers believable surprises…authentic…An enjoyable start to [an] engaging series for tweens.”
--Kirkus Reviews on The Test
“Brings to mind the cheery “it-all-ends-well" tone of books from another era…brimming with wholesome tween drama.”
—School Library Journal on The Test
“This is a great summer read…nicely diverse…Definitely a fun series, both for fans of beach life and for those of us in landlocked areas who only get as far as the beach on a lake!”
--Mrs. Yingling Reads on The Test
“Fun new summer-read series…relatable and engaging.”
—NetGalley children’s librarian review on The Test
#27 of Book Riot’s “100 Must Read Middle Grade Books for the Summer”
“Delivers believable surprises…authentic…An enjoyable start to [an] engaging series for tweens.”
--Kirkus Reviews on The Test
“Brings to mind the cheery “it-all-ends-well" tone of books from another era…brimming with wholesome tween drama.”
—School Library Journal on The Test
“This is a great summer read…nicely diverse…Definitely a fun series, both for fans of beach life and for those of us in landlocked areas who only get as far as the beach on a lake!”
--Mrs. Yingling Reads on The Test
“Fun new summer-read series…relatable and engaging.”
—NetGalley children’s librarian review on The Test
Callahan Cousins Series Press:
"I loved this spirited and heartwarming summer story about growing up, finding adventure, and keeping family bonds."
--Ann M. Martin, author of The Babysitters Club series
"A good choice for fans of the American Girls series."
--School Library Journal
"Appealing...Carey's narrative harks back to wholesome tales of a bygone era."
--Publisher's Weekly
"A good, old-fashioned (but still up to date) read."
--YA Books Central
"Refreshingly sweet-tempered."
--Kidsreads.com
"I loved this spirited and heartwarming summer story about growing up, finding adventure, and keeping family bonds."
--Ann M. Martin, author of The Babysitters Club series
"A good choice for fans of the American Girls series."
--School Library Journal
"Appealing...Carey's narrative harks back to wholesome tales of a bygone era."
--Publisher's Weekly
"A good, old-fashioned (but still up to date) read."
--YA Books Central
"Refreshingly sweet-tempered."
--Kidsreads.com