The thrilling sequel to the acclaimed Beautiful Blue World follows a brave girl who must flee her country during wartime and work undercover to defeat the enemy. For fans of The War That Saved My Life and Wolf Hollow.
"A thoughtful, pellucid story . . . [that] gently probes questions of loyalty, patriotism and sacrifice." -The Wall Street Journal on Beautiful Blue World
A war took Mathilde away from her family when she was chosen to serve her country, Sofarende, with other children working on a secret military project.
But now the other children-including her best friend, Megs-have fled to safety, and Mathilde is all alone, determined to complete her mission.
In this powerful and deeply moving sequel to the acclaimed Beautiful Blue World, Mathilde must make her way through a new stage of the war. Haunted by the bold choice she made on the night she chose her country's future over her own well-being, she clings to the promise Megs made long ago: "Whatever happens, I'll be with you."
Praise for Beautiful Blue World:
"Readers will be drawn in by the underlying belief that kids' work is important and powerful, and eager for the promised sequel." -Publishers Weekly, Starred
"Deeply emotional, compelling, and brilliant." -Kirkus Reviews, Starred
"LaFleur crafts a protagonist who is compassionate and resourceful, in a war-ravaged world in which children are, by turns, exploited and empowered. The tension is high and danger ever present." -School Library Journal, Starred
Beautiful Blue World is a thrilling and moving story of children who become the key to winning a war.
Sofarende is at war. For twelve-year-old Mathilde, it means food shortages, feuding neighbors, and bombings. Even so, as long as she and her best friend, Megs, are together, they 'll be all right.
But the army is recruiting children, and paying families well for their service. If Megs takes the test, Mathilde knows she will pass. Megs hopes the army is the way to save her family. Mathilde fears it might separate them forever.
This touching and suspenseful novel is a brilliant reimagining of war, where even kindness can be a weapon, and children have the power to see what adults cannot.
Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, Outstanding Merit
ILA-CBC Choices Reading Lists, Teacher 's Choice
Junior Library Guild Selection
Selected for the Kansas NEA Reading Circle Catalog
Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List
I'm obsessed with abandoned things.' Siena's obsession began a year and a half ago, around the time her two-year-old brother Lucca stopped talking. Now Mom and Dad are moving the family from Brooklyn to Maine hoping that it will mean a whole new start for Lucca and Siena. She soon realizes that their wonderful old house on the beach holds secrets. When Siena writes in her diary with an old pen she found in her closet, the pen writes its own story, of Sarah and Joshua, a brother and sister who lived in the same house during World War II. As the two stories unfold, amazing parallels begin to appear, and Siena senses that Sarah and Joshua's story might contain the key to unlocking Lucca's voice.
Elise and Franklin have always been best friends. Elise has always lived in the big house with her loving Uncle and Aunt, because Elise's parents died when she was too young to remember them. There's always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors on the second floor.
When Elise and Franklin start middle school, things feel all wrong. Bullying. Not fitting in. Franklin suddenly seems babyish. Then, soon after her 12th birthday, Elise receives a mysterious key left for her by her father. A key that unlocks one of the eight doors upstairs in the bar . . .
"I had everything I needed to run a household: a house, food, and a new family. From now on it would just be me and Sammy-the two of us, and no one else."
A tragic accident has turned eleven-year-old Aubrey's world upside down. Starting a new life all alone, Aubrey has everything she thinks she needs: SpaghettiOs and Sammy, her new pet fish. She cannot talk about what happened to her. Writing letters is the only thing that feels right to Aubrey, even if no one ever reads them.
With the aid of her loving grandmother and new friends, Aubrey learns that she is not alone, and gradually, she finds the words to express feelings that once seemed impossible to describe. The healing powers of friendship, love, and memory help Aubrey take her first steps toward the future.
Readers will care for Aubrey from page one and will watch her grow until the very end, when she has to make one of the biggest decisions of her life.
Love, Aubrey is devastating, brave, honest, funny, and hopeful, and it introduces a remarkable new writer, Suzanne LaFleur. No matter how old you are, this book is not to be missed.
