This would be such a great book club pick! It had so many things to talk about and discus. I loved the characters, and the storyline. Fabulous writing!

PERFECT NOSTALGIA!

A childhood summer, drenched in sun and salt. A mystery long buried in the sand. A moment when everything shifts—when innocence is lost forever.

For ten-year-old Alix, this was supposed to be just another family vacation—a sunbaked stretch of time spent between the beach, the backyard grill, and the lazy hum of her Walkman. Her mother claims to be writing a novel, and her father only cares about cricket. And her fifteen-year-old sister? She’s the gravitational force pulling everyone into her drama, set on making the summer revolve around herself and a lifeguard who happens to be dating someone else.

But while the rest of her family is distracted, Alix is watching. Listening. And seeing things no one else does.

Exploring the coastline, she befriends an Aboriginal boy who is fixated on solving the decades-old disappearance of a local girl. Their search begins as a game—detectives combing through forgotten stories and overlooked clues—but soon, they uncover something far more unsettling. The mystery they chase doesn’t just belong to the past; it’s wrapped up in the people closest to them. And as Alix pieces together the truth, she realizes this summer will mark the end of more than just childhood—it will change everything.

With the nostalgia of an endless summer and the tension of a slow-burning mystery, Upside Down is a gripping, atmospheric debut about the secrets that shape us, the stories we inherit, and the irreversible moment when childhood slips away.

#UpsideDown #Doubleday #ComingOfAgeMystery #SummerLost #FamilySecrets #Trevelyan #WalkmanDays #TheLastInnocentSummer

"A Beautiful Family" is a coming-of-age story in which a young girl realizes the complexities and conflicts between her parents, finds a true friend, and solves a mystery. Jennifer Trevelyan has a way of pulling you into the protagonist's shoes so that you experience each revelation as if it were your own. There were moments of suspense so chilling and effective that I held my breath. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Pub Date: June 24, 2025.

#ABeautifulFamily

Unfortunately this book was to slow and it dragged with a lot of details that were beautifully written and nostalgic but that they became boring. I kept hoping something gripping would happen but there was no twist or big mystery.

Such a good story, one that had me thinking about childhood and the choices we make and how our young minds think. I was invested in this book from the first few pages. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

good story of a family on vacation and told through the eyes of 10 and the family and its secrets. This summer changes the family and she ends up solving the murder of a girl.

During a summer vacation, a ten year old girl mostly ignored by her family, befriends a newcomer and the two set out to solve the mystery of a young girl who was presumed drowned two summers earlier. A suspenseful coming of age novel that really appealed to the younger, more adventurous ten year old me