Giveaway and Review: "Lost in London"

"Lost in London"
by Cindy Callaghan

Publisher: Aladdin

Release Date: Oct 15, 2013
Source: sent by publicist

My Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

Summary from the publicist: 

A tween’s foreign exchange experience lands her in London luxury—and some hot water as well! Twelve-year-old Jordan isn’t unhappy, but she’s definitely bored. So when she gets the chance to take part in a London exchange program, she’s thrilled to ditch her small town in Delaware and see the world across the pond.
Unfortunately, Jordan’s host sister in London, Caroline, isn’t exactly enthusiastic about entertaining an American girl. Despite the chilly welcome, Jordan finds herself loving the city and Caroline’s group of friends, who are much nicer than Caroline herself.
And then a major misstep leaves Jordan and Caroline trapped together overnight—inside Daphne’s, the world’s largest department store. Given they have complete access to all the fancy shoes, designer dresses, and coolest makeup around, there are worse places to be stuck. But when the girls’ fun has not-so-fun consequences, Jordan’s wish for excitement abroad turns into a lot more than she ever bargained for...

My Review:

This was such a fun middle grade/tween book! I was so caught up in Jordan's (aka JJ) adventures, that I couldn't put the book down. While it's still a very age appropriate book for middle grade readers, I think it would satisfy an older MG reader, who is not quite ready for YA but wants something a little more sophisticated.

I love that JJ and her friends romp around London completely unsupervised by adults. It's a great way to see tweens earning their independence and stretching their boundaries. All of the characters in JJ's group are very well rounded and multi-faceted. None of their personalities are stereotypical teens.

The ONLY drawback that I saw in the book was the focus that JJ seemed to have on clothes, makeup, etc. While her style does mirror her transformation, I just would have liked for JJ to focus on the other ways she was developing as a person, not just her style.

Otherwise, this was a super fun, fast-paced romp through London by five friends (and maybe one frenemy). It was fun to see London through the eyes of the jaded Londoners, and the young American tourist. You could really see the ways they bonded and helped each other see new things every day. The action was a mile-a-minute, and made for a book that was hard to put down.


Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5

Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 5/5


Bottom Line: This was such a fun read for tweens, with enough action and drama to keep even older MG (and adult!) readers interested. Highly recommended!

About Cindy Callaghan: Cindy grew up in New Jersey and attended college at the University of Southern California before earning her BA in English and French, and MBA from the University of Delaware. She recently exited corporate America after nearly twenty years, and is now fully entrenched in business consulting, writing, and family.  She is very involved with her children’s activities, including coaching the occasional soccer team. Cindy lives, works and writes in Wilmington, Delaware with her family and numerous rescued pets


Find Cindy on the web:

Buy the book:
http://bit.ly/LondonBook - Books a Million
http://bit.ly/getlondon - Barnes & Noble
http://bit.ly/lostinlondon - Amazon



GIVEAWAY RULES
The publicist and publisher have generously provided TWO copies of this book for two lucky readers of my blog.
All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below.
  • US only
  • Prizes will be mailed out by the publicist
  • Must be 18 or over 
  • Ends Nov 17
Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publicist in exchange for an honest review.

27 comments

  1. I love when you do reviews for these types of books. They always give me ideas for books to buy my nieces.

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  2. I would love to win this book. I went on a trip to London when I was 15 and loved it there. I can't wait to read this book.

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  3. Tween books seem to be more on my level. I'd like to read this!

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  4. This sounds like such a cute story, and I do love London. Great review!

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  5. My daughter would love this book and of course I would have to read it to! It sounds really interesting to follow her journey though London.

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  6. I believe that this book would be a great book for my tween granddaughter to read, I think that it would be fun to travel through London as a preteen and see the world as Jordan or (JJ) does and I believe that it would be fun to read - Lost in London by Cindy Callaghan

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  7. Sounds like a cool girl story my daughter would like.

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  8. I'm not familiar with the author but I will check into it.

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  9. Sounds like a cute book. Something my stepdaughter would love! I also like that the cover is bright and eye catching.

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  10. My daughter would love this. Any girl would love to be trapped in a department store overnight. And it will be nice to see how the girls play out since they did not like each other at first.

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  11. look slike a book my daughter would love
    trixie420247 at yahoo dot com

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  12. My daughter dreams of going to London she would love this book and in the right age group. She is a huge reader and this would be great :)

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  13. The book seems like it would be a good, clean drama between teen girls.

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  14. Sounds like a great book for my niece

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  15. This would make a great gift for my niece. Thank you

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  16. book sounds great! I am trying to get my sister into reading and I think she might actually like this one!

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  17. I think my daughters would love this book!

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  18. My daughter would love this book!! =)

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  19. I think my daughter and I would enjoy reading it together.

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  20. Sounds like a cute book for teen girls
    hrddiana556@gmail.com

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  21. the book sounds fabulous my daughter who is 13 would really enjoy it!!

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  22. I have a tween who is an avid reader and we just got our kids passports this summer with hopes of traveling more - this book would be right up her alley!

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  23. This sounds like a fun book for tweens!

    glindathegood@bellsouth.net

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  24. I haven't read any of Cindy's books but my daughter and I would both love reading this one. Thank you for the giveaway!

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  25. This sounds like a book my daughter would love. Traveling abroad and being trapped in a department store are two things she would love.

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Thanks so much for your lovely comments!