Set during World War II, this poignant, briskly paced historical novel
relays the events of one extraordinary summer from three engaging points
of view.
On the morning of the dedication of the new children's library in Belle
Beach, Long Island, eleven-year-old Julie Sweet and her six-year-old
sister, Martha, find a baby in a basket on the library steps. At the
same time, twelve-year-old Bruno Ben-Eli is on his way to the train
station to catch the 9:15 train into New York City. He is on an
important errand for his brother, who is a soldier overseas in World War
II. But when Bruno spies Julie, the same Julie who hasn't spoken to him
for sixteen days, heading away from the library with a baby in her arms,
he has to follow her. Holy everything, he thinks. Julie Sweet is a
kidnapper.
Of course, the truth is much more complicated than the children know in
this heartwarming and beautifully textured family story by award-winning
author Amy Hest. Told in three distinct voices, each with a different
take on events, the novel captures the moments and emotions of a
life-changing summer -- a summer in which a baby gives a family hope and
brings a community together.