Deze serie vangt de ervaringen van kinderen tijdens hun adolescentie in de Tweede Wereldoorlog, waarbij de achtergrond van een mondiaal conflict wordt vermengd met intieme verhalen over vriendschap en persoonlijke groei. Lezers vinden er verhalen over ontluikend patriottisme, verweven met de uitdagingen van het dagelijks leven, van het confronteren van pestkoppen tot het ontdekken van verrassende geheimen. Het is een reis door de complexiteit van familie, loyaliteit en zelfontdekking tijdens een turbulente historische periode.
In a small Southern town in 1944, two girls secretly help a seriously ill army deserter, a decision that changes their perceptions of right and wrong. Issues of moral ambiguity and accepting consequences for actions are thoughtfully considered in this deftly crafted story.
When Gordy Smith and his down-and-out family go to live with his rich grandmother, Gordy brings with him all the hostilities of an abused child whose drunken father has beaten him regularly. His no-nonsense grandmother and his friendship with a boy who uses a wheelchair change his perspective and life. The author, Mary Downing Hahn is a former children''s librarian.
Gordy's return to College Hill brings challenges as he faces the weight of his family's troubled past and the disapproval of his peers. Living in a cramped apartment with his siblings and their new family, he struggles with a hostile principal and old friends urging him toward mischief. His former rival, Elizabeth, intensifies his feelings of isolation. As Gordy grapples with these pressures, he must decide whether to revert to his past behavior or continue on his path to personal growth and success.