Sometimes good news!
Caroline Leech has written another wonderful book for teens (and adult
readers of all ages!). In Another Time takes us back to
Scotland during World War II, a time when the war is upending normal life in
ways no one could have expected. Who
would have imagined that the war would take teenage girls and young women out
of their schools and kitchens and into the forest to harvest timber essential
for the war effort? Who knew there were lumberjills?!
Caroline Leech picks up this hidden thread of history and
weaves a story that brings to life the ironic ways war may inspire courage,
open new paths, forge friendships, and – always – cause lasting and even
inexplicable pain.
Maisie McCall shrugs off her last year of high school to
leave home to serve in the Women’s Timber Corps, taking on the hazards of axes, saws and all kinds of weather, to fell trees in the forests of
Scotland for the war effort. Her
tenacity in the treacherous work is transformative for her and for the young
women friends she makes among the Timber Corps as they build physical strength
and daunting persistence that they – and their families – would never have
imagined possible.
But in showing us the human capacity to create new
possibilities during dangerous times (the growing power of girls and women,
especially), Leech does not romanticize war.
In her first novel, Wait for Me, also
set in Scotland, the war is ever present: the enemy is here: a German POW works on
the family farm! In Another Time feels at times less urgent, less threatening
because the enemy – the Nazis and their war planes and soldiers – are not
physically present. Maisie doesn’t see a
German soldier. Instead, she learns
that the dangers and pain of war are not just of the moment. In this story, the ravages of war are lived
everyday in the life – and recovery – of John, the Canadian lumberjack she
meets and grows to love.
Leech’s characters are so real you keep them with you after
you put the book down. Herself Scottish, she’s a true
storyteller. Her stories of the courage and spirit of Scots during World War
II teach us their inspiring history and also remind us we don’t want to
create more war stories in our time.
If you have a teen reader at your house, if you’re a
teacher, if you’re a grownup who loves a good story that takes you to another
time, get yourself to your neighborhood independent bookstore, your public
library or to HarperTeen to get this book!
Buy a copy for your school library or afterschool program. In
Another Time is a delight to read and share! Thank you, Caroline Leech! We
can’t wait for your next book!
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