Gram says Lily's problem is that she doesn't think. But, that's not true. She does think. A lot. She thinks about her beloved Poppy, fighting the Nazis in some unknown land; she thinks about her friend Margaret, whose older brother's been MIA since D-Day; and she thinks about Albert, who worries about the family he left behind in Hungary. It should be another idyllic summer on the Atlantic shore - just like every other she's spent at Rockaway - but this is 1944 and nothing is the same as it used to be.

Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff, is the touching tale of an impetuous 5th grader whose life changes irrevocably during one remarkable summer. As she fishes, swims and enjoys her liberation from the nuns at St. Pascal's, she becomes an eyewitness to the drama and heartache brought on by the Second World War. She's not thrilled about eating boiled cabbage, receiving censored letters that keep her father's location secret, or eating bakery cookies made bland by the scarcity of butter and eggs. The war's one big inconvenience, destroying the lazy summer Lily was hoping to enjoy with her dad. Although she's known for telling whoppers, she can't lie to herself anymore - the summer of 1944 is the worst she's ever experienced.

When Lily meets Albert, her whole outlook changes. A refugee from Budapest, he escaped his war-torn home with only the treasures sewn into the collar of his coat. He doesn't know what's become of his parents, his Nagymamma, or his little sister. While Lily has observed the war, Albert has lived it. Desperate to bring their loved ones home, the pair hatch a plan - one that will put not only their friendship, but also their very lives, in jeopardy.

With authentic period detail, endearing characters and an adventure-filled storyline, Lily's Crossing is a beautifully-rendered novel about a special friendship between two aching children. It's funny, tender and true. Sniffling my way through the end made me realize it's been way too long since a book moved me as much as this one did. Lily's Crossing is simply a lovely little read.

Grade: A

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for mild language and suspenseful action scenes

Willow Run, the sequel to Lily's Crossing, follows Lily's friend Meg Dillon through her own adventures during the summer of 1944. The Dillons leave Rockaway, New York, for Willow Run, Michigan, where Meg's father has taken a job in a factory. A former pilot, his poor eyesight has kept him out of the war - anxious to help the war effort, he will be helping to build B-24 bombers. Meg wants the Germans defeated as much as anyone, but she's not happy about leaving her seaside home. Especially when she sees her new digs:

Grandpa. Secretly, Meg's glad he didn't come with them to Michigan. With his German accent and odd ways, he was safer in New York, where everyone knew him. She had already caught some boys painting a swastika on his house - persecution would likely be much worse in a bigger city where Josef von Frisch was a stranger. Besides, he smelled like pickles, insisted on calling her Margaret, and whispered through every movie they watched together. An embarrassment.