LILY'S CROSSING by Patricia Reilly Giff

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Giff, Patricia Reilly. 1997. Lily’s Crossing. New York: Yearling ISBN 0440414539

Lily’s Crossing is a gentle gem of a story about a little girl’s world being affected by World War II. Patricia Reilly Giff masterfully recreates American life in a 1940’s New England beach town from the lively, spirited point of view of an 11-year-old girl.

Young Lily spends every summer with her father and grandmother at Rockaway Beach. This is her favorite time of year because not only does she get to spend her time by the beach, she gets to see her best friend Margaret. But this summer turns out to be quite different. Margaret must leave Rockaway beach early, so now there is no one left here, until the arrival of a soon to be new friend, Albert—a refugee from Hungary.

The setting of this book is Rockaway beach, which was used during the Second World War as a harbor for American ships headed to Europe. Lily loves to tell lies that make her life sound more interesting than what it really is. Lily takes one of her lies a bit too far with Albert causing him to risk his life. Giff hones right in on the time period by describing the children’s clothes, toys, movies, and books. Booklist proclaims, “With wry comedy and intense feeling, and without intrusive historical detail, Giff gets across a strong sense of what it was like on the home front during World War II.”

The story centers on Lily's experience during the war and her relationships. She comes to terms with the grandmother who rears her, her father who leaves her behind for the war effort, her mother who has passed away, and her best friend who has moved away. These themes of loneliness and separation hold true whether in times of war or not. In the author’s notes, Giff addresses the universality of her work noting that people have always worried about the same things even if the times change. School Library Journal agrees, “Giff's well-drawn, believable characters and vivid prose style make this an excellent choice” of historical fiction for readers of all ages.

 

Lily’s Crossing is the winner of a Newbery Honor award.

Readers can make further historical connections of wartime America in Giff’s companion novel Willow Run. 

Books in Print. TWU Library. Accessed November 11, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/

THE WEDNESDAY WARS by Gary D. Schmidt

 

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Schmidt, Gary D. 2007. The Wednesday Wars. New York: Sandpiper. ISBN 9780618724833

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt follows the trials and travails of 7^th grader Holling Hoodhood throughout the 1967-68 school year. This story is set in the suburbs of Long Island, New York in a predominantly Hebrew and Catholic community. As the only Presbyterian in his class, Holling finds himself with free time on Wednesday afternoons. This is when his teacher Mrs. Baker assigns him extra work, including everything from cleaning the classroom to memorizing Shakespearean plays. Through this special one-on-one relationship, the boy learns to deal with his feelings about his “perfect” parents, the pressure of inheriting the family business, his rebellious older sister, and his new-found theater and running activities.

Using the Vietnam War as the backdrop, Schmidt quietly weaves the hippie era into the narrative without it taking over the story or becoming too dark or depressing. Holling’s sister’s transformation into a flower child and his teacher's MIA husband is the closest he gets to experience any fallout from the war. The characters are completely believable and identifiable to anyone who's ever been a student. The strong character of Mrs Baker is especially influential who does everything in her power from coaching Holling how to train for track meets to driving him all the way to Yankee Stadium to meet his favorite players.  The setting is vividly described from the point of view of a thirteen year-old boy of the time. The landmarks and buildings are also pointed out in detail as would be expected from the son of an architect.

As the theme of the story does revolve around the turbulent 1960’s, it reflects universal ideas that can be identified by anyone at any time with its nostalgic, awkward look at family life, the junior high school years, and coming of age. The story of Holling reminds one of the television drama series "The Wonder Years" set in the same era where Kevin Arnold found himself growing up in similar traumatic times. Booklist praises Schmidt’s writing: “[S]eamlessly, he knits together the story's themes: the cultural uproar of the '60s, the internal uproar of early adolescence, and the timeless wisdom of Shakespeare's words.”

Schmidt hilarious style of using hyperbole to describe small details of events and exaggerating them into monumental fears just as a 13-year-old would is effective. This allows the reader to laugh out loud at the absurd situations and predicaments of Holling as if they were there to witness it in junior high. VOYA aptly summarizes, “this novel is funny, warm, sad, and touching all at the same time.”

The Wednesday Wars is a 2008 Newbery Honor winner.

Readers who enjoyed this title can find similar themes expressed in Schmidt’s companion novel Okay For Now.

Books in Print. TWU Library. Accessed November 10, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/