Full review at: http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/20... ( )

10 year old Lily is living during World War II. She doesn't like to think about it until her own father leaves. He goes to make machines and B-24's for the war while Lily & her grandmother are on summer vaction. Lily's friend Margret moves to Virgima till the war is over. Meanwhile Lily is lonely with her annoying "Gram".playing the piano and cleaning around the house until there neignors the Orbans invite them to dinner to introduce Lily a surprise. & thats when she meets albert a boy that came all the way from Hungry were his parents got shot for owning a newspaper business. Saying hateful things about Hitler and his crew. Albert and his sister went to stay with there grandmother who sent them to France were Ruth Alberts sister got sick and stayed there while Albert left her. Lily soon became friends with him and went throu adventures from learing to swim,saving a kitten they nemed Paprika and sneaking into movies and a whole bucnch more . this is a very cool book i cant wait to read... AGAIN!!!

This is a story about Lilly who lives in NYC, and vacations on the ocean with her grandmother during World War II. Lilly's father is an engineer, and goes to war in France. Lilly's best friend during the summer moves away to Detroit. Lilly befriends a young boy who has escaped from Hungary. His parents are assumed dead--they were revolutionaries and printed newspapers opposing the Nazis. The boy (Albert) doesn't know if his sister survived. He left her in France. Lilly and Albert save a drowning kitten. That's where their friendship begins. Albert wants to get back to France to rescue his sister. Lilly tries to help him. ( )

This book has the pace of a slow summer day, which is a little too slow for my preference. But it tells the story of Lily and her friend Albert over a summer in New England during WWII and the slow pace is fitting. Furthermore there are themes here that are relevant in children's lives today. Lily's father is away at war, and she struggles between missing him, and being angry at him for being gone. The friendship that develops between Albert and Lily as complex and meaningful. There's enough in this book to recommend for children and teachers. ( )