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Over the years, I’ve met other bloggers in my same genre. One of my favorite blogger friends is Tracy Borgmeyer, author of the She Loves Science blog and the Halley Harper, Science Girl Extraordinaire Series. We have a lot in common, besides running blogs featuring STEM activities and experiments for kids. We are both chemical engineers who worked in the oil and gas industry, and then became stay-at-home moms and started STEM blogs, our husbands are both also engineers, and we both have 3 kids (2 girls and 1 boy). One thing I am hoping to one day catch up to Tracy on is being a published author!
Tracy is the author of the Halley Harper, Science Girl Extraordinaire five book series. The books follow Halley Harper, a young girl named after Halley’s Comet. Halley loves science, but sometimes has accidents when experimenting, earning her the nickname, “Miss Disaster.” She goes away to a science summer camp, Camp Eureka, that gives her exciting and memorable experiences every summer.
I read the 5 book series with my son. He is my oldest child and we started reading the books when he was 9 years old, just like Halley is in the first book. He definitely could have read and enjoyed these books on his own, but I really wanted to read them too, so I offered to read them to him.
It took us a lot longer to get through the series with me reading a chapter or two out loud at night before bed to my son than it would have taken if either of us read the books on our own. I know my son would have read each book in days on his own, but I enjoyed our months of sharing time together slowly reading the books.
Even though the main character is a girl, my son really enjoyed the books and was invested in all the characters and the story. He is going away to a sleep away camp for the first time this summer, and I think these books got him interested in it and excited for summer camp.
When my son and I read these books my daughters were around 7 and 2, and they weren’t ready/interested in chapter books without pictures yet. Now my older daughter is 8, and I’m looking forward to reading the books with her soon. 🙂
My overview and review of each of the Halley Harper books:
Book 1: Summer Set in Motion – This is the book where it all begins and we meet Halley Harper. She is a curious 9 year old girl who loves science. She goes away to a science summer camp and discovers someone wants to shut down the camp. She and her friends love the camp and want to find a way to save it.
I was invested from the first chapter when she was making Ooblek. Ooblek is so fun to make and play with but also so messy, and I definitely could relate to Halley’s mom not wanting the mess. It is so fun to get to know Halley and her family and friends in this book, as she goes to Camp Eureka for the first time. The book was very entertaining, and I felt like it got my son interested in doing more science experiments and finding a summer camp too.
Book 2: The Friendship Experiment – Halley does a science experiment that gets out of control and she loses her best friend over the resulting disaster. She also gets a job as a science reporter for her favorite science magazine and gets to interview the Camp Eureka director. She has to make new friends at summer camp, while trying to reconnect with her best friend. Of course, there is an interesting new mystery at the camp including a science magician.
As someone who loves explosive science experiments, I enjoyed reading about her (disaster) experiment in this book. I believe science is magic, and this book perfectly demonstrates it. All of Halley’s adventures are relatable, and I know many kids navigate similar friendship drama at school regularly.
Book 3: Secret Rock Aftershock – The book starts when Halley accidentally starts a fire during a live TV segment with her mom – another science disaster. Halley is growing up and gets more responsibility like babysitting her younger brother and also finds out her family is moving out of town. She wants to figure out a way to keep her family from moving, and meanwhile she goes to Camp Eureka. At camp she learns about geology, goes rock climbing and discovers a dinosaur fossil.
This book has so many fun and hilarious moments. We loved reading about her visit to the local TV station, and babysitting her younger brother, and then of course all the fun at Camp Eureka. My kids were getting into rock climbing around the time we read this book, so my son and I could relate (I found the heights to be much scarier as an adult than I remember as a kid).
Book 4: Nature Code Breakers – Halley is living her best life – she was invited to go visit the White House and meet the President to present her cool new science invention, but gets spooked about science in the process. She also is now in middle school and worried about being popular. She tries to change who she is to fit in with the popular kids, but being forced to go back to Camp Eureka helps her find her passion for science again. This summer’s camp session focuses on nature and she finds an endangered red wolf.
We loved reading about her adventures at the White House and her awesome butterfly tracker invention. I thought this book was very realistic about the struggles girls often face in middle school with wanting to fit in. My son liked the excitement at camp including finding the wolf and the forest fire.
Book 5: Race to Outer Space – This book is epic! It’s the longest of the 5 books by almost double, and delivers lots of excitement and adventure. Halley comes up with an invention to communicate in space that is being tested by astronauts at the international space station. She then has the opportunity to be the first kid in space (my son was so excited about this), and gets caught up in a huge adventure to save Ms. Mac and Camp Eureka. She travels the world and gets to meet several women (including her grandma) who are called the Extraorinaires, and she finds out they were working on projects to help send humans to Mars.
This book was mind blowing, epic, tragic, and exciting. There were so many plot twists and ups and downs, that we were invested in the story and wondering what was going to happen until the end. Her race to be the first kid to space was exciting, but her adventure to find Ms Mac was even crazier with the antagonists from all the previous books coming back, and Ms. Mac eventually going to space!
We loved all the books, but my son and I agreed that our favorite book was Secret Rock Aftershock (book 3). I felt like I was in the TV studio with Halley for her disastrous appearance. The rest of the story was very relatable: from her sad feelings and defiance over the family’s move, to the fear of heights while rock climbing. I felt so invested in her story and wanted Halley to succeed. My son loved the excitement of the fire at the TV station, and the rock climbing at camp (I think he pictured himself doing this), and her finding a fossil.
Q&A with the Author Tracey Borgmeyer
I asked Tracy if we could do a short Q&A with her about the books, and she graciously agreed. My son was so excited for the chance to interview an author and helped me come up with our questions. Here is our interview:
Emily & Chase (E&C): Why did you want to write the books?
Tracy Borgmeyer (TB): I wanted my kids to read about a hero that I never read about when I was growing up – one that was a smart, persnickety, and loved science.
E&C: Did you plan for the series to be 5 books from the start?
TB: Yes. I knew I wanted the series to be about 5 different topics of general science – physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and space. When I started I had no idea how I was going to get there. I just had to trust that one day I would.
When I sign my first book (Summer Set in Motion) I always write above signature: “Reach for the stars!” That was also a reminder to me to keep reaching for that last book about space – and through a lot of persistence and grit – I did.
E&C: Do you have a favorite book in the series? (We both agree our favorite was book 3: Secret Rock Aftershock)
TB: I LOVE that one too! I wrote Book 3 when I was moving from Houston to Beaumont, TX and so many of those emotions are my own about relocating to a different city. Relocations can be hard.
My favorite book is book 5 because I felt like a grew so much as an author from Book 1 to Book 5. I re-read the series this past year and I was really proud of how it all came together and ended Halley’s story.
E&C: What inspired the Halley Harper? Is she (or any of the other characters) based on your childhood or your kids?
TB: My daughter Allie (who is now 14) asked if Halley is based on her. I said, no, Halley is really a braver version of me. I don’t think I would ever intentionally set an oobleck trap for a teacher to get them to confess to a wrong doing – but I would certainly imagine it!
Many of the scenes written in the books are straight from dialogue that I had with my daughter Allie for a blog post. For example, the scene in Book 2 when Halley and Gracelyn are microwaving a marshmallow is almost word for word how I video’d the same experiment with my daughter Allie. She was worried it would catch on fire – I was encouraging us to keep watching it!
E&C: Are your real-life experiences woven into any of the stories? (Emily: One of my favorite chapters in book 3 is when Halley goes on the local Houston TV show. It reminded me of how I found you! I saw you on Houston Life when Chase was very little.)
TB: Absolutely, these stories are based on real-life experiences – those are the best kind because I can feel the emotion when I write about them. The Houston TV show scene is almost exactly how I remember doing the same show – except I didn’t set fire to the set 😉
Another really close memory is when I was little I asked my mom to cut my hair very short and I had a store attendant ask if I was a little boy. That definitely inspired one of the scenes in book 2 The Friendship Experiment where Halley lost a portion of her hair in a science disaster and had a similar exchange with a store attendant!
For me, life definitely inspires art.
Emily: When I first saw you on Houston Life I loved your passion for science, the outfit (your signature tie dye lab coat), and the experiment you demonstrated was so cool. You punctuated a bag of water with pencils and had the hosts join in too. I thought it was so cool – I did it with my kids later after watching it! I’ve been following you on Instagram and your blog ever since!
TB: I never knew that Emily! That is awesome. I’ve been doing that Magic Bag trick for a while and typically enjoy doing it with principals during school author visits! The kids love it 😉 I still sweat a little getting nervous that I’ll cause my own disaster and soak them!
E&C: Have you always wanted to be an author?
TB: I wanted to write books since I was about 9 years old. I love to read and when someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up it was always an author and an inventor.
I got close to being an inventor as an engineer by helping design “intelligent” equipment to monitor subsea pipelines on an oil and gas platform. My ultimate invention that I wanted to invent was a time machine. I’m still working on that one 😉
The closest I got to that is writing books. I can write about my past memories like a time machine so that I can transport a reader – like you and your mom – to a past time and even a fictional place!
E&C: Do you want to write more books?
TB: Yes! I’m working on the prequel to Halley Harper right now! It will be available later in 2025 and follows the story about why Halley is named after Halley’s Comet! The setting is in 1986! I also plan to write and publish the sequel about Ms. Mac’s trip to Mars and if she makes it back!
We can’t wait for the Halley Harper prequel about Halley’s Comet and the sequel about Ms Mac’s trip to Mars! I’m looking forward to reading the prequel with both my son and older daughter when it comes out later this year. 🙂
I’d recommend this series to any kids who love science. Although the main character is a girl, my son’s interest in the books shows that any kids (girls and boys) can relate to Halley’s adventures. I read it with my son when he was age 9-10, and I think that was a good age to start the series, but of course, it depends on your child’s reading level and attention span. I think kids at ages anywhere from 7-13 will enjoy these books, and younger kids can grow along with Halley, while older kids will read the series quickly.
My 8 year old daughter has a friend who reminds me a lot of Halley. She’s curious and always experimenting at home. I recommended these books to her mom. She bought the first book for her daughter and texted me that her daughter loved the first book and finished it in days. They got her the second and she couldn’t put it down, so they ended up buying her the whole series! It was the perfect book series for her and I’m so glad she had the opportunity to read it.
If you’re interested in these books, you can find them all on Amazon through my affiliate links in this post. I highly encourage you to give Tracy a follow (if you haven’t already). You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog: She Loves Science.
Have you read these books yet, or do you plan to after reading about them here?
