Gusta's father is a labor organizer who was born in Germany, and as WWII sweeps across Europe, Americans are increasingly tense--and Gusta's father becomes a wanted man. When he has to flee, Gusta is sent to stay with her maternal grandmother in Maine, while her mother stays behind in New York to keep her job. Gramma Hoopes runs an orphanage, and while Gusta quickly comes to like everyone at the home, things don't go as smoothly at school, where her extreme nearsightedness and her German heritage raise the hackles of some. Gusta finds comfort in playing her French horn, her only memento from her father, but when she's given the chance to sell it and pay for a surgery to help her injured Uncle Charlie, Gusta wonders if she can let go of something she loves so dearly to help her family.
Dang! This book is FANTASTIC! For starters, how can you not love a book that gives you such awesome phrases as "the general effect being that of a short, human-shaped icicle"? The writing is terrific and fresh, not the same old cliched phrases. Gusta just stole my heart--she's such a serious girl, so concerned about others, and I just adored her as the narrator. She's so interesting, with her survivalist attitude (she has gotten by without needed glasses for years, and she doesn't even mind because she doesn't want to cost anyone money), her willingness to speak up for and help other (even people she doesn't necessarily like), and her wisdom (she's very aware of the labor movement, for example). She's just this brave, good, kind little person. Secondary characters are great as well--we don't get a whole lot of depth with them, but the glimpses we do get are just terrific. (I love Georges!) The details are so interesting and make the book so real--like a patriotic health contest being run in the school. It really takes you back to 1941 and what life was like. There are terrific themes and topics to discuss, such as the labor movement, loyalty, "alien" foreigners and what it means to patriotic, family relationships, etc. There's a lot of depth here, but it's not overly weighty. I was really surprised when I found out the book is 448 pages (I read the Kindle version), because it flew by for me.
This is an easy 5 stars from me.
I read a copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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