by Anne Nesbet (Author)
With the United States on the verge of World War II, eleven-year-old Gusta is sent from New York City to Maine, where she discovers small-town prejudices -- and a huge family secret.
It's 1941, and tensions are rising in the United States as the Second World War rages in Europe. Eleven-year-old Gusta's life, like the world around her, is about to change. Her father, a foreign-born labor organizer, has had to flee the country, and Gusta has been sent to live in an orphanage run by her grandmother. Nearsighted, snaggletoothed Gusta arrives in Springdale, Maine, lugging her one precious possession: a beloved old French horn, her sole memento of her father. But in a family that's long on troubles and short on money, how can a girl hang on to something so valuable and yet so useless when Gusta's mill-worker uncle needs surgery to fix his mangled hand, with no union to help him pay?
Inspired by her mother's fanciful stories, Gusta secretly hopes to find the coin-like "Wish" that her sea-captain grandfather supposedly left hidden somewhere. Meanwhile, even as Gusta gets to know the rambunctious orphans at the home, she feels like an outsider at her new school -- and finds herself facing patriotism turned to prejudice, alien registration drives, and a family secret likely to turn the small town upside down.
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Gr 4-6--Gusta Neubronner arrives at her grandmother Hoopes's house in Springdale, ME, with a suitcase, a letter from her mother, and her French horn. Her pro-union father left her at the bus station while fleeing government agents. The anxieties of 1941 plague Gusta in her temporary home. School children mock her poor vision which oculist Mr. Bertmann corrects in exchange for Gusta's help with his carrier pigeons. Xenophobia and poverty threaten the orphans Gramma Hoopes shelters even as Gusta, orphan Josie, and cousin Bess form a band of female solidarity. As troubles mount, Gusta seeks her great grandfather's legendary wishing coin. Images of small-town Maine in a swiftly changing era fill Nesbet's story with a warm coziness, despite Gusta's struggles. Magical forest walks, collecting and cleaning eggs for sale, and visits to the family graveyard make Springdale seem like Brigadoon. The startling change Gusta experiences when she can see objects around her helps readers view every detail of Springdale with Gusta's newfound clarity. The dialogue is catchy, and Gusta's internal monologues share her tremendous curiosity and friendliness with readers. This is a good pairing for Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War that Saved My Life, both for the time period and its sense of pathos. At some points, one does feel Nesbet juggles too many topics--a small-town scandal, unionization, immigration, poverty, and school squabbles. Each one could use a bit more attention. VERDICT Solid historical fiction with a memorable heroine.--Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.In this uplifting, multifaceted historical novel set in 1941, Nesbet (Cloud and Wallfish) creates an arrestingly strong and sympathetic character in nearsighted 11-year-old Augusta "Gusta" Hoopes Neubronner. Financial strains force Gusta to leave her parents and New York City for her grandmother's home in Springdale, Maine, where the townsfolk are wary of anyone different--especially someone with an unusual name or unusual talent, both of which Gusta, a passionate French horn player, possesses. Gusta is surprised by much in Springdale (including that her grandmother runs an orphanage), though nothing is more astonishing than her German-born union organizer father's sudden disappearance during their bus trip to Maine and the men who subsequently board the bus searching for "fugitive" August Neubronner. Buoyed by memories of his encouraging words ("In war and struggle, we do what we must!"), Gusta adjusts to her new life, instinctively standing up for what she believes is right. Nesbet deftly weaves disparate elements--music, orphans, labor unions, carrier pigeons, and a magic wish--into a richly developed story set during a pivotal era in American history. Ages 10-14. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Apr.)
Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.