Second Fiddle
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
From acclaimed author of A Wolf Called Wander and Heart of a Shepherd comes another sensitive portrayal of military families, this time stationed abroad, in the city of Berlin at that historic time just after the Wall came down.
When 13-year-old Jody and her friends save a badly beaten Russian soldier from drowning, they put into motion a chain of events that will take them from Berlin to Paris and straight into danger. Jody must quickly learn to trust herself, because in the time directly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the border between friend and enemy is not as clear as it once was.
Award-winning author of Heart of a Shepherd Rosanne Parry offers a fast-paced, coming-of-age story filled with adventure, music, friendship, and intrigue.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1990, just after the Berlin Wall has fallen, Parry's insightful coming-of-age novel follows the tumultuous journey of three eighth-grade friends who live on an army base in Berlin. Jody, a violinist and classical composer, is dreading leaving her two best friends when her father retires from the army, and she will again be forced to uproot her life to move to Texas. Along with commanding Giselle and brainy Vivian, Jody plans to enter a solo and ensemble contest in Paris as a string trio; their planned performance is thwarted when their teacher falls ill, but when they witness the attempted murder of Arvo, a Soviet soldier and translator, they rescue him and plot to secret him to Paris. The trip doesn't go as planned, and the friends wind up on a wild goose chase with international ramifications. The action may take place in the '90s, but this reads like first-class historical fiction; Parry (Heart of a Shepherd) vividly conjures the political tensions of the period, the challenges of life as an army brat, and the redemptive power of music. Ages 8 12.
