Legendary author Shirley Hughes draws on her young teenage memories
for a compelling novel of friendship and mysteries set in Liverpool
during the Blitz.
Liverpool, 1940: Thirteen-year-old Joan's home is under constant threat
from the Nazi's terrifying nightly air raids. Everyone is on edge, faced
with strict food rationing, curfews, and blackouts. It's not an easy
time to be a teenager. Joan's one solace is going to the movies with her
best friend, the unflappable Doreen, but when the bombings intensify,
even that becomes too dangerous. There's also the matter of a strange
man who Joan sees lurking near their home. Who is he, and why does he
think Joan can help him? Even more unsettling, as the Blitz worsens,
Joan and her friends make a discovery down by the old mill that will
tear the whole community apart. In the hardship of war, everything seems
to be rationed--except true friendship.