AUGUST RAIN

In Holly’s middle-grade novel, a young girl unravels a sprawling conspiracy after the death of her beloved grandfather, a former World War II codebreaker.

Twelve-year-old Marnie Price is grieving the loss of her beloved grandfather, “Papa,” when life gets even more complicated: Her cousins, Mel and Jo, move in with their grandmother after the abrupt disappearance of their mother, Marnie’s Aunt Sandy. As everyone attempts to cope with this new dynamic, Marnie receives some mail with no return address that turns out to contain a crossword puzzle. The girls—and Marnie’s older brother, Nick—have a mystery on their hands. They begin learning more about Papa’s life, including the fact that he was part of a secret World War II codebreaking operation called August Rain—alongside a man named Conrad Pearson, who’s just appeared in their lives in an unexpected way. As the clues pile up, including a notebook with a page suspiciously torn out and an index card containing a Macbeth quote that Mel finds in their grandfather’s old study, the kids realize that a dreadful plan has been put into motion—but are they too late to stop it? Holly has crafted a fast-paced mystery that never loses sight of Marnie’s emotional growth. Information about codebreaking is smoothly woven into the story, making for an unobtrusive yet fascinating learning opportunity. Naturalistic dialogue and a smooth narrative voice allow Marnie to shine as a particularly sensitive and intuitive tween: “I could see it written all over him—the way he stretched his hands behind his head and exhaled hard through his nose. He was trying to outrun something. Maybe it was his grief. Maybe it was fear. Maybe both.” The result is a middle-grade novel that deftly tackles a historical thriller plot while sensitively exploring themes of grief, adolescence, and the courage needed to do the right thing.

A smart coming-of-age novel that expertly blends mystery with the magic and peril of growing up.