Reviews

Across the Pond by Joy McCullough

miszjeanie's review against another edition

4.0

Across the Pond is a charming, sensitive middle grade book about moving to a new country and finding your tribe. Set in breathtaking Scotland and featuring a birdwatching protagonist and diary entries from a 1939 war evacuee, this book provides an engaging mix of historical and contemporary fiction. If you like books about families, birds, disentangling from toxic friendships, and finding friends that feel like family, this is your pick.

Read my full review on my blog.

Many thanks to the publisher for an eARC of this book.

beansbooksandbiology's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

anakuroma's review against another edition

3.0

TW: HP references and mention of JKR, bullying, ableism (and internalised ableism), anxiety, sexism and misogy

This story had great bits i loved, and at times crawled or felt to flesh out unnecessary moments instead of more important characters. Overall it was enjoyable, but the two areas that bothered me most were

A: Sid's disability being brought up only near the end, and at times improperly framed (note: though I am disabled myself I do not have seizures so own voice reviewers should have president over my thoughts)

B: as an avid bird lover I really enjoyed the books framing but felt the personality and charm of birds was lacking, it all felt very serface level. This is very personal, it just felt like the charm was lacking.

jengennari's review against another edition

4.0

Callie and her family move to a castle in Scotland in this warm tale of bird watching and finding friends. Callie discovers the 1939-40 journal and bird list of the castle's former resident, Lady Whittington-Spence, which adds a layer of history. There's also a bit about peer pressure, and learning who your true friends are. And -- a great librarian!

m_dash's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

barefootsong's review

4.0

I really loved this story of tween Callie who is relieved to move with her family to Scotland after a serious friendship breakup at her previous home in California. Her family have inherited a decrepit castle because her parents were nice to the last titled owner while they were grad students renting a cottage from her so she left them her castle in her will. (They are also lucky enough to get a grant to restore said castle into a tourist destination.) Callie is still getting over what happened with her former friends, so she finds it difficult to trust people and make new connections. She finds a WWII diary in her new bedroom, which inspires her to take up birdwatching (or, "twitching"). While exploring her new home and clashing with the horrible sexist leader of the twitching club, Callie begins to heal and find her way forward. IDK, this is one of those more introspective stories that's kind of hard to describe well, but like I said, I really loved it.

lizpatanders's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars for now but oh, my heart.

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5 stars. I was inspired to grab this after taking a bird-watching elective this past spring hehe. :) Maybe not the most memorable of reads, but thoroughly enjoyable all the same! Three cheers for discovering the power of standing up for yourself.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent

mybookishworld's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

mssarahmorgan's review against another edition

emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0