Bøger i Historical Fiction for Young Readers serien

The death of he mother has left thirteen-year-old Anna Kallio responsible for running the house. She has no time anymore for going to school or playing with friends. She and her nine-year-old brother, Matti, worry about their father, who is a blacksmith for the iron mines. When they realize how lonely he his, they plot to find him a new wife, even trying to arrange a match with one of the "mail order" brides arriving from Finland. The results of their efforts are different from anything Anna expected. She finds herself torn by her own emotions as she realizes another woman will fill her mother''s place.

It's 1942. Thirteen-year-old Korinna Rehme is an active member of her local Jungmadel, a Nazi youth group, along with many of her friends. She believes that Hitler is helping Germany by instituting a program to deal with what he calls the "e;Jewish problem,"e; a program that she witnesses as her Jewish neighbors are attacked and taken from their homes. Korinna's parents, however, are members of a secret underground group providing a means of escape to the Jews of their city. Korinna is shocked to discover that they are hiding a refugee family behind the wall of her bedroom. But as she comes to know the family, her sympathies begin to turn. When someone tips off the Gestapo, loyalties are put to the test and Korinna must decide what she really believes and whom she really trusts. Filled with adventure, Behind the Bedroom Wall helps readers understand the forces that drove so many to turn on their neighbors and the courage that allowed some to resist.

Based on the true story of Lowell's grandmother, this acclaimed novel offers a a compelling look at life in early 20th-century California as it tells the story of a young girl struggling to find her place there. Includes an Afterword by the author. Illustrations. Map.