I love young adult mystery thrillers. This one had a lot of twists and turns I didn’t see coming, and I loved the mysterious aspect.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This is a great summer read for middle school grades, especially if they like a mystery. Two sisters on vacation who feel like they might be drifting apart work together to help their favorite summer place.

Saltwater Secrets by Cindy Callaghan was a super sweet story about two half sisters, with all the summer vibes.

Josie and Stella spend the summer with their dad on the New Jersey shore. They have grown up doing the same summer rituals every year. This summer changes. They get to town to find one of their favourite places gone along with their buried treasure. A mystery is afoot, and these two clever girls are about to figure it out.

I loved the environmental aspect to the mystery of this story. I think environmental topics and issues are great to bring up to children at a young age. The first 25% of this book I struggled to get into. The following 25% started to get me interested. The last half of the book I flew through, and I could not put it down. This is a really wholesome middle grade novel, which I often find lacking these days. I think children, tweens, and parents will enjoy this alike. I cannot wait to read Callaghan’s other books in the future.

I received an electronic advanced reader copy from Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and Aladdin through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

This book was a very sweet summer story that perfectly captured what it's like to grow up, the atmosphere of the Jersey Shore, and had a fun mystery too.

Josie and Stella are half sisters who only see each other in the summer when they spend time down the shore with their dad. This summer though, things start to change. Stella wants to grow up and start being a high schooler, while Josie wants things to stay the way they are. On top of this, the two of them discover a conspiracy on the boardwalk, that they have to work together to solve.

This book had both sweet notes of friendship but also a compelling mystery. This is a perfect summer read for middle school readers.

Stella and Josie are half sisters who are about the same age. Stella lives in New York, and Josie lives in Australia. They see each other every summer when both visit their father who lives down the shore in New Jersey.

Each summer, they have specific traditions: get water ice on the boardwalk, visit the Fun House, and find their secret hiding place under the Fun House where they store treasures from their summer together in a metal box. This summer is different from the start. Stella has started dressing and acting like she is already in high school, while Josie has not. The water ice place is gone, replaced by a smoothie place. Their treasure box has vanished.

Then dead jellyfish start washing up on the beach in greater numbers than before, and Stella and Josie notice the boardwalk seems slightly less stable than the previous year. They snorkel under the boardwalk and notice that something seems to be eating away the pylons. They band together to solve this mystery, but then find themselves in the middle of a controversy and interrogated by the police.

The mystery was intriguing, as was the sister’s relationship and how each was navigating the summer before high school. There are not an abundance of books that feature protagonists who are on the verge of starting high school, and I was grateful to see that this one does.

Some readers may find the back-and-forth of the perspectives and timelines confusing. Some of the events are implausible and/or wrapped up too quickly. Other readers will enjoy the mystery and the ways in which each girl navigates growing up.

*Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This was definitely a fun read to start the summer. It's told an alternating perspectives of Josie and Stella, half-sisters who only get together during the summertime. The girls come upon a major problem at the boardwalk, and when local officials won’t listen, they take it upon themselves to keep the people and the jellyfish safe. You can definitely see both girl's very different personalities come out through their sides of the story, however they are so loyal to each other.

I think this would be a fantastic eco-mystery for an upper middle grade reader and tweens! The end definitely sounded like there could be a sequel in the works. I'm looking forward to it!

I found the plot a bit hard to follow and definitely hard to relate to. The jump cuts to the interview at the police station did nothing to keep me engaged. And we have two very different plots here that are at odds, rather than lifting each other up. And the interpersonal issues don't get room to develop with the attention given to the business/ecological plot.

Half sisters Josie and Stella can't wait to reunite with their dad at the Jersey Shore for the summer, but this year they seem to be growing apart, and they soon get caught up in a mystery of what is polluting the water and killing local jellyfish. The mystery is engaging, and it is especially interesting in how the narrative switches back and forth between the present-day police investigation (readers don't know why the sisters are being investigated other than that some girl ended up in the hospital) and the past several days over which the bulk of the story takes place. Certain plot elements require a generous suspension of disbelief for the story to work, though, specifically that several young teenagers are able to finagle multiple meetings with a heavily-guarded teenage celebrity. The narrative switches between the two sisters' perspectives, and Stella comes across as unlikeable and shallow, obsessed with her image and "acting high school." The girls both find themselves entangled in summer crushes that, while realistically portrayed, are resolved too neatly to seem real. This book is marketed for middle graders, but in some ways the girls actions (like going to a late-night bonfire with boys or getting a piggy-back ride from their summer crush) makes the title seem more YA. One thing this book does well is emphasize the importance of environmentalism without coming off as preachy. While not the most well-written title, Saltwater Secrets makes for a fun, fast summer read. Will be popular with fans of chick lit. Ages 10-14. 3.5 stars.

I received this ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Saltwater Secrets follows half sisters Josie and Stella as they embark on another fabulous Jersey Shore summer together. This time, though, things are different. The girls are heading into high school and Stella isn’t sure that Josie is ready to act the part. The girls happen upon what they believe to be a major problem at the boardwalk, and when local officials won’t listen, they take it upon themselves to keep the people and the jellyfish safe.

I think a lot of kids will like this one. It’s told in alternating perspectives by Josie and Stella as they relay their side of the story to Officer Sanford in an interrogation room. It’s a perfect mystery for middle grade readers.