Holbrook’s fictional tale captures the angst and fear of the Cold War, McCarthyism, and coming of age. The author’s craft transports the reader to the Detroit suburbs in 1954. Includes Author’s Notes, Bibliography.

I've been reading a lot of books about the Cold War lately and this is one to read if you have an interest. It describes the anti-German sentiment that permeated American culture in the 50s and 60s. There was much less tolerance for cultural differences back then and Detroit was one of the melting pot cities. This book is based loosely on the author's own experiences growing up in Detroit.

Marjorie is very aware of the anti-Nazi/anti-Communist atmosphere around her. Communists are called Commies and immigrants are called DPs for displaced persons. WW2 is still fresh in people's minds and they have no tolerance for Germans. When a new German girl named Inga joins her class and she is instructed to share her desk since there are no others, Marjorie is faced with a moral dilemma. She wants to be nice to Inga and help her learn to read English, but she knows it will jeopardize her friendship with the popular, but intolerant, Bernadette.

Her father, a retired military man, who works for a company with ties to the military, is socially aware of the importance to not appear to be a Communist sympathizer. So it's interesting that at the end of the book he invites Inga's father over to their house to talk about the war. In the end, Marjorie stands up to Bernadette. Her father's message is that war is bad, not people, so you must forgive and forget. ( )

It's 1950s Detroit and Marjorie Campbell must share her classroom desk with new girl, Inga Scholtz. With "Commies" under every bed and Nazis loose after WWII, paranoia runs high. In addition, Inga's presence threatens to undermine Marjorie's friendship with "queen bee" Bernadette. Holbrook paints a realistic view of post-war Detroit (actually, the northern suburb of Berkley) and presents a vivid look at mean girl behavior (the girls start a Slam Book against Inga and Marjorie must decide where her loyalties lie.) The book suffers from a lack of plot, some uneven shifts in tone (it tries to be funny at times but the subject itself is no laughing matter) and some dropped subplots (Who is the roomer Frank? Who was Inga's father, really? Why did Marjorie's mother have a breakdown?) It's also a pity that the lack of substance given to Inga's character prevents the book from portraying the immigrant experience. Nothing objectionable and a "B" for tackling a setting (the midwest) and time (the 1950s) now often found in YA literature. ( )