Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In this moving and timeless story, award-winning author L. M. Elliott captures life on the U.S. homefront during World War II, weaving a rich portrait of a family reeling from loss and the chilling yet hopeful voyage of fighting for what matters, perfect for fans of The War That Saved My Life.
Days after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Hitler declared war on the U.S., unleashing U-boat submarines to attack American ships. Suddenly the waves outside Louisa June’s farm aren’t for eel fishing or marveling at wild swans or learning to skull her family’s boat—they’re dangerous, swarming with hidden enemies.
Her oldest brothers’ ships risk coming face-to-face with U-boats. Her sister leaves home to weld Liberty Boat hulls. And then her daddy, a tugboat captain, and her dearest brother, Butler, are caught in the crossfire.
Her mama has always swum in a sea of melancholy, but now she really needs Louisa June to find moments of beauty or inspiration to buoy her. Like sunshine-yellow daffodils, good books, or news accounts of daring rescues of torpedoed passengers.
Determined to help her mama and aching to combat Nazis herself, Louisa June turns to her quirky friend Emmett and the indomitable Cousin Belle, who has her own war stories—and a herd of cats—to share. In the end, after a perilous sail, Louisa June learns the greatest lifeline is love.
* A Children's Book Council Notable Social Studies Trade Book * CDE Recommended Reading 6th-8th Grades * 2023 Capitol Choices * VLA Cardinal Cup for Historical Fiction * Bank Street College Best Book
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An infrequently explored aspect of WWII history—German submarines torpedoing U.S. cargo ships along America's East Coast—underpins Elliott's (Walls) well-crafted novel narrated by 13-year-old Louisa June, youngest of five in a loving, cued-white family in coastal Tidewater Virginia. The story begins in March 1942, soon after America's entry into WWII, as the Chesapeake Bay and waters off Tidewater become the submarines' "favorite hunting grounds" (though local civilians are unaware). Louisa's three oldest siblings depart to help the war effort, leaving her to monitor Mama's "melancholy," a frequently contained depression. When Louisa's beloved college-bound brother is killed by a German submarine's fire on the family's tugboat, and her father is injured, then overtaken by guilt and grief, her mother falls into a deep depression, laced with anger and blame. Louisa, also bereft, struggles to keep the household afloat and care for them. Welcome help comes from elderly, worldly, and spirited cousin Belle, who offers no-nonsense emotional support, plus food, books, and kittens. Louisa's growing understanding of the devastation that the German submarines are causing propels her to find a way to join the war effort. Evocative descriptions of the region's natural life—"egrets and blue herons wading through the feathery inlets"—ground this realistic depiction of one family's efforts to withstand depression and personal tragedy during wartime. Ages 8–12.
