Booklist Reviews
Gr. 5^-9. Set in 1941, this title in the Dear America series features Madeline Beck, an eighth-grader adjusting to a new life in Long Island, New York. She longs for acceptance among her schoolmates and misses her father, a soldier stationed on the West Coast. Starting a club to aid the war effort helps, bringing personal pride, friendships, even romance into her life. Things become complicated, however, when she accidentally witnesses a suspicious beach rendezvous. As with many others in this series, the diary format mixes fact and fiction in a way that may confuse some readers, and the historical note at the back of the book skims the complex issues of the war. But the period details are fascinating--from references to songs and fashions to newspaper headlines and quotes from Roosevelt--and lively, complex Madeline deals with timeless teen dilemmas as she learns the importance of appreciating differences. A fast, engaging read that offers a glimpse into wartime America, especially the war's impact on teens. --Shelle Rosenfeld Copyright 2000 Booklist 2000
Horn Book Guide Reviews
With her father stationed in the Pacific, thirteen-year-old Maddie and her mother move into a boarding house on Long Island. Along with the other boarders, the Becks volunteer their services on the home front to help the war effort. Through Maddie's diary entries, Osborne captures the excitement and the reality of war from the perspective of a teenage girl. A historical note and black-and-white photos are appended. Copyright 2001 Horn Book Guide Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
In September 1941, Maddie Beck and her mother move to a rundown boardinghouse on Long Island. Maddie's dad is somewhere in the Pacific on an aircraft carrier, and Maddie takes hope in the fact that the United States is not yet at war. But a pair of German-Jewish refugees who also live in the boardinghouse hint at horrors yet to come. By the time of Pearl Harbor in December, Maddie is trying to transcend her desire to be accepted, her longing for penny loafers, and her dislike of the gap between her frontteeth into what young people can actually do for the war effort. She takes Eleanor Roosevelt's words to heart, and soon she's organizing ways of collecting scrap, bacon fat, and other items to be recycled. She's working alongside Johnny Vecchio of the sparkling brown eyes, and wonders if they could be more than pals. Osborne (Adaline Falling Star, p. 62, etc.) has captured perfectly the cadences of 1940s speech and music in Johnny and Maddie's conversations. The historical discovery of Nazi explosives onthe shores of Long Island in June 1942 is used in this fictional diary as a catalyst to their story, and is made both plausible and engaging. Maddie is as self-dramatizing as any young teen, but her circumstances are dramatic, especially after her fatheris wounded. Historical notes and photographs close the text. Young readers with grandparents and great-grandparents who lived through these times will be especially intrigued. (photographs, notes, appendices) (Historical fiction. 8-12) Copyright 2000 Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal Reviews
Gr 4-7-Maddie Beck, 13, lives with her mother in a Long Island boardinghouse while her lieutenant-commander father is stationed in the Pacific. Her mother rapidly fits in to their new community, but Maddie finds it difficult to make friends, until classmate (and crush) Johnny Vecchio learns that her father is in the Navy. After the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Maddie and Johnny organize a student group to sell war bonds, gather scrap metal, collect newspapers and used books, and make first-aid kits for the Red Cross. One restless night, Maddie takes a walk on the beach and encounters someone with a heavy accent and another threatening character. This night leads to more mysterious events that finally prompt her to call the FBI, which leads to the arrest of four Nazi agents. Then the Becks get a telegram that Maddie's father has been injured, and they prepare to move to San Francisco where he is to be hospitalized. Osborne has done an excellent job of capturing the feelings and anxieties of the time coupled with the concerns and uncertainties of young people. An excellent companion novel to Carolyn Reeder's Foster's War (Scholastic, 1998; o.p.).-Debbie Feulner, Northwest Middle School, Greensboro, NC Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews
In September 1941, the war rages in Europe as thirteen-year-old Madeline Beck and her mother move into a boardinghouse in Long Island, New York, while Madeline's father, a Navy fighter pilot, is on duty in the Pacific. Madeline's diary records herattempts to fit in at her new school and incidents in her daily life, offering fascinating glimpses into those turbulent days when the United States was suddenly plunged into war. Madeline and a handsome classmate, Johnny Vecchio, become good friendsand get involved in patriotic war efforts. They patrol beaches watching for enemy submarines when German U-boats are spotted close to the shores, and a life-threatening situation develops when the spunky young girl discovers explosives smuggledashore by German saboteurs. When the telegram arrives with the dreaded news that her beloved dad has been critically wounded, Madeline's world is shattered. Fortunately her father survives, but now Madeline and her mom must move to the West Coast tobe near him as he recuperates in a hospital there. This prospect is bittersweet, as Madeline has become deeply fond of her best friend, Johnny. In this entry in the Dear America series, Osborne has concocted a page-turner that skillfully captures the spirit of the day with authentic details of wartime events, intriguing situations, likeable characters, and an easy narrative. Historicalfacts and dramatic photographs at the end of the book are informative and add special interest. This absorbing novel should have wide appeal among young adults, particularly history buffs. It might even hook reluctant readers.-Delia A. Culberson. Copyright 2000 Voya Reviews