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When the World War II Blitz begins, two kids search desperately for their families as Nazi bombs rain down on London.Charlie "Sneak" Sawyer never wanted to leave London, despite his uneasy relationship with his grandfather. But when the orders come for children to evacuate as the world teeters on the brink of war, Grandad insists Charlie leaves with the rest.
Months pass; the expected bombing of London doesn't happen, and kids begin drifting back from the countryside. After a year spent toiling for a grumpy farmer, Charlie's had enough. He decides to sneak home to London, whatever it takes.
Shortly before he turns thirteen, Charlie does just that, only to be waylaid by Lucie Marie Meadows, a precocious eight-year-old girl with golden eyes.
A girl who might be able to see ghosts. A girl who's keeping secrets.
Charlie and Lucie arrive in London the afternoon of September 7, 1940--the very afternoon when Nazi planes cross the sky and drop their first deadly loads. The Blitz has begun.
Suddenly, London is a fiery, smoking maze of rubble, danger, and chaos. The explosions are so terrifying even the ghost of a WWI soldier roams the theater he haunts, unable to rest.
Somehow, with a rescued dog called Smoke, Charlie and Lucie must search for answers--and the people they love.
Award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson weaves together a remarkable tale that is at once a rollicking, hair-raising adventure and a moving story about family, courage, and the heroism of everyday people during the devastating Blitz.
About the author
Deborah Hopkinson is the highly acclaimed author of thrilling, accessible, and compelling works of fiction and nonfiction for every reader. She has written over forty award-winning books, including World War II Close Up:
They Saved the Stallions and
They Battled in Blizzards;
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist and Sibert Honor Book;
D-Day: The World War II Invasion That Changed History;
We Had to Be Brave: Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport, which was a Kids' Book Choice Award Nominee and a Sydney Taylor Notable Book; NCTE/Orbis Pictus Recommended Book,
We Must Not Forget;
Race Against Death, which
School Library Journal called "impactful" in a starred review; and her series for Grades 2-5, The Deadliest, which are action-packed, photo-filled nonfiction titles about disasters throughout history, and the rollicking novel
The Plot to Kill a Queen. Deborah lives outside Portland, Oregon.
