Don't Talk to Me About the War
Growing up in the Bronx, 13-year-old Tommy tends to overlook the newspaper headlines and go straight to the sports pages. But the year is 1940. His friend Beth anxiously follows unfolding events in Dunkirk, their friend Sarah worries about her relatives in Nazi-occupied Vienna, and soon Tommy finds himself concerned about events taking place an ocean away. When his mother’s mysterious ailment grows worse, Tommy stops playing stickball after school to help out more at home. Adler builds a straightforward story in which small changes, decisions, and revelations gradually shift the main character’s outlook and concerns over a period of time. The signs that Tommy has grown up a bit are subtle, but perhaps that’s what makes them believable. Using historical details to good effect, this quiet novel gives readers the sense that they are looking in on the actual period rather than viewing a stage set crammed with 1940s props. An engaging and very accessible historical novel. Grades 4-7. --Carolyn Phelan--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.