TOGETHER AGAIN: The Callahan Cousins #4
by Elizabeth Doyle Carey
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN-10: 0316736953
ISBN-13: 9780316736954
Ages 8-12
272 pages

Phoebe loves everything traditional and old-fashioned. She believes she's never had a "real" Christmas at home in Florida with her forward-thinking family. For years she's kept a Christmas folder full of holiday recipes, scenes from novels, decoration ideas and much more.

The Callahan cousins remain close after their summer at Grandma Gee's ocean mansion on Gull Island. As soon as Neeve suggests they reunite to spend Christmas at Gee's, Phoebe is thrilled. At last she will experience a true, perfect, old-fashioned New England Christmas. Her pleasure is amplified as she meets up with her cousins and Gee at Gull Island.

However, Phoebe's Christmas plans meet a snag immediately. It seems they will find a tree at a tree lot instead of tromping into the woods to chop one down. Phoebe swallows her disappointment, though, and manages to be a good sport.

Many of Phoebe's holiday fantasies do come true. The town is beautifully decorated. Gee's house could be in a "how to decorate for winter" magazine spread. The cousins are thrilled when Gee announces she has six tickets to a Christmas sleepover party at the local museum. But who will use the two extra tickets? They plan to invite their friend Lark, but when Phoebe's arch-enemy's name is bandied about, Phoebe's dream of a perfect Christmas begins to seem unattainable. Sloan will ruin everything!

The cousins shelve the discussion for the sake of harmony as they set out Gee's Christmas trappings. Phoebe's chagrin over breaking a special ornament is somewhat dispelled when it actually snows in the morning. Yes! Phoebe will have her white Christmas!

Phoebe hauls out her Christmas folder, announcing her plans for a traditional holiday. She hands out assignments to her cousins: crafts and recipes to Kate, outdoor activities to Hillary, and party plans to Neeve. The cousins are enthusiastic --- until Phoebe announces that all gifts are to be homemade. In spite of their protests, Phoebe stands firm.

Meanwhile, the girls make maple syrup taffy in the snow. They create snow angels and go sledding, where Phoebe almost doesn't hate Sloan for about two minutes before he (unfortunately) acts like Sloan, ruining the moment.

Phoebe struggles to find the perfect gift for Gee until she gets a nudge from a most unlikely corner. But is she heading in the right direction?

TOGETHER AGAIN is another enjoyable book in the Callahan Cousins series. Phoebe is a likable three-dimensional character with flaws; she grows and changes in a satisfactory way over the course of the story. The author, Elizabeth Doyle Carey, continues to strike an easy balance between old-fashioned and totally modern storytelling. If a few of the outcomes are a bit on the predictable side, they don't distract from (but rather possibly add to) the warmth and coziness of the tale.

   --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

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