by: L.M. Elliott
narrated by : Elizabeth Wiley
rating: loved
It's 1942 and German U-boats are sinking ships right and left off the East Coast. And Louisa June and her family, in coastal Virginia, rely on the ocean for their food and livelihood, are affected. In fact, her father and favorite brother end up caught in some crossfire. Her mama was already prone to melancholy and this incident only pulls her deeper into its depths. So, Louisa June feels the pull to do something, anything, to feel like she is fighting the Nazis and helping her Mama. With her friend Emmett and eccentric Cousin Belle, she learns how to share in the fight and in the hope of better things to come.
This is middle grade historical fiction done excellently. A WWII book set on the home front that taught me so much about what it was like for Americans in 1942. Louisa's family is a family of bookworms and a love of literature plays a role in the plot. Plus a passel of cats, a Rosie the Riveter older sister, and some weathered fisherman round out the cast. The hard subjects of mental illness, grief, death, and war were handled tenderly, but without sugar coating them. It was so excellently narrated and it definitely will be on my list for top reads of the year.
Content Warning: Mental Illness, Death, War Violence
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