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ISABEL'S WAR

Name: ISABEL'S WAR
Author: Lila Perl
ISBN: 978-1-939601-27-8

by Lila Perl ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 2014

Published posthumously, an effective exploration of both character and times.

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A young woman comes of age with World War II looming in the background.

It is summer, 1942, and World War II is less than a year old for the United States. Isabel Brandt, 12, and her parents are vacationing at a small, unstylish resort in the Catskills. As they arrive she is teetering on the edge of adolescence; while not selfish, she is self-absorbed. Also visiting at Moskin’s Shady Pines is Helga, a German refugee, the somewhat-older niece of Mrs. Brandt’s best friend. The beautiful, sophisticated older girl is a mystery Isabel is determined to solve, especially when circumstances force her to live with the Brandts. As Helga’s unhappy story unfolds, Isabel’s world widens, and she begins to appreciate others and take brave stands, even trying to bring German concentration camps to the attention of others. The evocation of wartime is real; this view is from someone who was there. Isabel’s experiences of school, friends, a boy, movies, crooners, rationing and her brother’s enlistment combine with what she learns about Helga’s life and tortured secret to summon the times and authentically evoke a girl becoming a person aware of others, thus adding value to her life and the lives of others.

Published posthumously, an effective exploration of both character and times. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-939601-27-8

Page Count: 227

Publisher: Lizzie Skurnick/Ig

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
LILLI'S QUEST
by Lila Perl

- BOOK REVIEW
FOUR PERFECT PEBBLES
by Lila Perl & illustrated by Marion Blumenthal Lazan

- BOOK REVIEW
ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER
by Lila Perl & illustrated by Donna Ruff

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THE SEVENTH MOST IMPORTANT THING

by Shelley Pearsall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 2015

Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

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Traumatized by his father’s recent death, a boy throws a brick at an old man who collects junk in his neighborhood and winds up on probation working for him.

Pearsall bases the book on a famed real work of folk art, the Throne of the Third Heaven, by James Hampton, a janitor who built his work in a garage in Washington, D.C., from bits of light bulbs, foil, mirrors, wood, bottles, coffee cans, and cardboard—the titular seven most important things. In late 1963, 13-year-old Arthur finds himself looking for junk for Mr. Hampton, who needs help with his artistic masterpiece, begun during World War II. The book focuses on redemption rather than art, as Hampton forgives the fictional Arthur for his crime, getting the boy to participate in his work at first reluctantly, later with love. Arthur struggles with his anger over his father’s death and his mother’s new boyfriend. Readers watch as Arthur transfers much of his love for his father to Mr. Hampton and accepts responsibility for saving the art when it becomes endangered. Written in a homespun style that reflects the simple components of the artwork, the story guides readers along with Arthur to an understanding of the most important things in life.

Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates. (Historical fiction. 10-14)