Lily’s Crossing (3.5 hours), performed by Mia Dillon, is a Newbery Honor Book for children ages 8-12, but it’s the kind of audio that even parents will enjoy. It’s set in the summer of 1944, at Rockaway Beach, where Lily watches troop ships begin their trek across the Atlantic — one, perhaps, carrying her beloved father — and where she meets a boy her own age, a refugee from Hungary, whose parents were killed by the Nazis and whose sister is somewhere in France. They become constant companions, sharing their fears about loss and separation, the war and the future, discovering that love and friendship make a world of difference in a very troubling world. Author Patricia Reilly Giff tells this story with simplicity, honesty, and a refreshingly clear understanding of childhood.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
