School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Gr 6-8?To Margaret Ann Motley and her family, World War II seems very far away from Wight County, VA, until Aunt Mary Lee and her daughter are forced to flee England. Margaret Ann and her cousin Courtney, both 12, don't hit it off, and, to make matters worse, Courtney wins Grandma Motley's heart and Margaret Ann's boyfriend and is pampered by the rest of the family. The war comes even closer to home when Pearl Harbor is bombed. Elizabeth Motley and her fianc? decide to marry before he leaves for the army, and her brother enlists in the navy. The strain of waiting to hear from loved ones, of getting good news and bad, rationing, and the loss of farm help as men go off to fight are all intertwined with the events of everyday life as Margaret Ann tries to get along in her family, win back her boyfriend, and outwit her cousin. The characters are superbly delineated. Margaret Ann, the quintessential adolescent at the beginning of the book, morphs into a much more mature person. Courtney is lonely and scared, which she covers up by being obnoxious. She has the sly, sweet voice of a girl who knows how to get her own way while sticking it to her rival. The other family members and close friends receive the same careful characterization. This perceptive novel focuses on how war affects the people who are left at home?their fears, dreams, hardships, and, above all, hopes.?Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.