3 of 3 copies available
As in past years, Lily will spend the summer in Rockaway, in her family’s summer house by the Atlantic Ocean. But this summer of 1944, World War II has changed everyone’s life. Lily’s best friend, Margaret, has moved to a wartime factory town, and, much worse, Lily’s father is going overseas to the war.
There’s no one Lily’s age in Rockaway until the arrival of Albert, a refugee from Hungary with a secret sewn into his coat. Albert has lost most of his family in the war; he’s been through things Lily can’t imagine. But soon they form a special friendship. Now Lily and Albert have secrets to share: They both have told lies, and Lily has told one that may cost Albert his life.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
May 27, 2008 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780739360682
- File size: 112577 KB
- Duration: 03:54:32
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 4.6
- Lexile® Measure: 720
- Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty: 3
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Reviews
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In the summer of 1944, Lily and her grandmother are in Rockaway, as they are every year. This year, however, nothing is the same. Just as she feels that nothing will ever be good again, Lily meets Albert, a young refugee from Budapest, whose life has been torn apart by the war, and the two forge a bond. Mia Dillon ably captures the youthful voice of Lily, alternately complaining, longing for her father or indulging the exaggerations formed by her overactive imagination. Dillon also brings Albert to life for young listeners by accurately portraying his lilting accent, punctuated with comical pronunciations of common English words. Occasional musical additions enhance this 1998 Newbery Honor Book--a fine choice for family listening. S.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine -
February 10, 1997
Exceptional characterizations and a robust story line turn this WWII homefront novel into far more than a period piece. Spending the summer of '44 at her family's vacation home on the Atlantic, Lily feels angry and deserted when her widower father joins the Army and is sent to Europe just after the Allied invasion. Her ever-critical Gram seems to be breathing down her neck at every turn, and Lily has gotten off on the wrong foot with Albert, the Hungarian refugee boy staying with neighbors. She just can't seem to break out of her self-described role as "a last-row, last-seat kid in school with terrible marks... told lies every other minute." Giff keeps the spotlight off Lily's flaws, refraining as well from overtly linking them to her self-consciousness at being motherless. Rather, she uses them to generate the plot: as Lily and Albert work their way into friendship, Lily tells a lie with unexpected and potentially dangerous consequences. Lily learns her lesson in a resolution that feels psychologically true. In the background, characters cope with wartime shortages, stumble into tragedy as sons and brothers fall in battle-in short, lead complicated lives with the hope of redemption. Closely observed, quickly paced and warmly told, this has all the ingredients that best reward readers. Ages 8-12. -
Winner of a 1998 Newbery Honor Medal, Giff's novel is intensely evocative of time (1944), place (Rockaway), and emotion (excitement, fear, loss and hope). Master storyteller Christina Moore gives voice to every emotion and to each character--spunky Lily; short-tempered and officious Gram; kind and gentle Poppy; and shy, hesitant Albert, with his thick Hungarian accent and the terrible secret he introduces to the once-idyllic summer at the beach. Moore's Lily clings desperately to childhood, innocence and fragments of control, with her silly songs, her forced cheer and her foolish lies. Finally, the realities of war leave Lily throbbing with sadness and ripe for the promise of the future beyond the loss that Giff's closing chapters provide. Moore ably captures this full palette of emotions. T.B. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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January 11, 1999
PW's starred review of this 1998 Newbery Honor book said that the WWII homefront novel, about Lily's growing friendship with a Hungarian refugee, "has all the ingredients that best reward readers." Ages 8-12.
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