Literary Classics Gold Medal in Historical Young Adult
Literary Classics Words on Wings Young Adult Book Award
Wednesday, December 10, 1941
"Hitler speaks to Reichstag tomorrow. We just heard the first casualty
lists over the radio. . . . Lots of boys from Michigan and Illinois. Oh
my God! . . . Life goes on though. We read our books in the library and
eat lunch, bridge, etc. Phy. Sci. and Calculus. Darn Descartes. Reading
Walt Whitman now."
This diary of a smart, astute, and funny teenager provides a fascinating
record of what an everyday American girl felt and thought during the
Depression and the lead-up to World War II. Young Chicagoan Joan Wehlen
describes her daily life growing up in the city and ruminates about the
impending war, daily headlines, and major touchstones of the era--FDR's
radio addresses, the Lindbergh kidnapping, Goodbye Mr. Chips and
Citizen Kane, Churchill and Hitler, war work and Red Cross meetings.
Included are Joan's charming doodles of her latest dress or haircut
reflective of the era. Home Front Girl is not only an entertaining and
delightful read but an important primary source--a vivid account of a
real American girl's lived experiences.