Though my mom was very little during WWII, she still remembers Victory Gardens, ration books, and collecting fat and delivering it to drug stores for the war effort. She also remembers my grandma working nights at a gasket company in the Detroit area – a real Rosie the Riveter! Recently, I suggested she read LILY’S CROSSING, a middle grade novel by Patricia Reilly Giff. Patricia was just a bit older than my mom when she experienced WWII, and her novel LILY’S CROSSING is based on her memories of that time. As my mom read the book, it brought back so many memories for her. She kept saying,”I remember that! I haven’t thought of that in years!”
And that’s one of the reasons I was first drawn to read this historical fiction book – it’s based on the author’s firsthand experience. The story takes place in Far Rockaway, Queens, NY, along the Atlantic Ocean, where Patricia – like Lily in the story – spent her childhood summers away from the city. I love how Patricia writes with tenderness and a laugh-out-loud hilarity that balances out the difficult subject matter.
// Spoiler alert – If you want surprises, read the book first! //
Having lost her mother when she was little, main character Lily is now raised by her father and grandmother. But instead of spending their summer together at her gram’s home in Rockaway as they usually do, Lily’s father is called overseas to fight in the war. And Lily’s close friend Margaret won’t be spending the summer in Rockaway either. Margaret’s father has been given a job in a plane factory and the whole family must move to Detroit. Now it’s just Lily and gram…until the Hungarian boy Albert arrives. He’s a refugee who misses his family like Lily misses her parents. But he’s not ready to become friends with Lily yet. It’s only when they rescue a drowning kitten and care for it together that Albert finally opens up. Navigating the brokenness caused by war, Lily and Albert form a deep friendship that helps them hope for a better future.