Sydney Mackenzie Knocks 'Em Dead Hardcover – March 7, 2017

This book for youth shares a shift from needing to maintain a facade to realizing she the protagonist) is genuinely liked by her "uncool" friends. It weaves this modern day story into a glimpse into the past of the Underground Railroad and how a family endured a reputation of being odd to maintain its secret contributions to freeing slaves. It focuses on true courage and caring set apart from "maintaining a reputation." Very enjoyable.

This book is so much fun. Sydney moves from California to Delaware - cultural shock! In her determination to fit in, she learns a lot about pretending to be who she isn't and actually being herself. A small town, not interested in name brand clothes, is a whole new world to her. Living in a cemetery turns out to be interesting. Finding a ghost and a bit of history makes the book and her life exciting.

Cindy Callaghan does not disappoint!! She produces another tween novel full of twists and turns. Being from Delaware( "a place to be somebody")I love that she keeps in touch with her Delaware roots.Who doesn't love a graveyard theme when you are a young reader?!! My daughter loved this book!

Engaging story line, wonderful characters. A "must have" addition for your kids summer reading list!

Another great one by the Uber-fabulous Cindy Callaghan. Love her books and especially appreciate the strong young women portrayed in the stories. The cover was super cool too!

Super, entertaining book with a lot of suspense. My daughter read it in one day! She couldn't stop reading, she loved it that much. Definitely get this for your kids.

This is a tricky book and shifts around a bit before it settles in to what it wants to be.At the outset we have Sydney being yanked from sunny California and dropped into an old Victorian house in the middle of a cemetery in the middle of Delaware. Sydney is not happy about this. The book opens with a lot of Valley Girl whinging and clothing brand name dropping, and I feared this would just be the same-old uppity-snot-gets-taught-a-lesson kind of book.MILD GENERAL PLOT SUMMARY SPOILERS. Wrong. Sydney actually meets a bunch of fine potential friends at her new school and begins to get acclimated. Further, she comes around on the whole cemetery thing. She thinks her new friends will be creeped out, but they all actually think the cemetery angle is cool, and she begins to think so as well. So, we bypass the whole possible whining, moping, lonely, being difficult chapter and go right to having fun with hauntings.By the halfway point it's all séances and mysteries, (and a touch of budding romance), as we explore the cemetery and the creepy house and get drawn into a mystery about someone named Ivy Shaw and the meaning behind her hidden locket. All of a sudden the kids are playing Hardy Boys, and instead of some half-hearted ghost story we have an actual historical mystery. Did not see that coming.The resolution is rather pat, but I guess the fun is in getting there. This struck me as early middle grade. The writing is clear and direct and unembellished. There aren't any big surprises regarding plot or characters or action, and nothing that would strike one as edgy or thought provoking. It's fun and light and mostly about friendship and settling in. That's not a bad thing. (Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

My daughter has been a fan of Ms. Callaghan's books since she first read "Just Add Magic" in the 5th grade. Having devoured the entire "Lost in . . ." series throughout her middle school years, she was thrilled to pick up a copy of the author's latest offering, "Sydney Mackenzie Knocks 'Em Dead." This book did not disappoint! It was the perfect combination of humor, mystery, friendship and heart. My daughter couldn't put it down! Now, her younger brothers have decided to read it as well.I highly recommend this book (and others by this author) for 8-14 year old boys and girls. The age-appropriate themes, humor and suspense will keep young readers engaged to the very end.

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