Often times, heroines in historical fiction are best described as "plucky". Not Millie. She is a consummate pessimist. She sees the inevitability of war, death all around her. She is, at times, selfish and a pain. She can't explain her outlook but with her parents constantly busy she has space to work through her obsessions on her own. She learns to value others, to engage with her family and recognize the struggles of her siblings. As an historical novel it's a bit of a hard sell for many middle grade readers and being introspective doesn't raise it's standing with that same age group. Kids willing to work their way through it, though, will find a wonderful edifying tale.

War and Millie McGonigle
by Karen Cushman
Random House Children's
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Children's Fiction | Historical Fiction
Pub Date 06 Apr 2021



I am reviewing a copy of War and Millie McGongile through Random House Children’s/Knopf Books for Young Readers and Netgalley:



Millie McConigle lives in sunny California , her days are filled with beach and surf, it should be perfect, but it’s far from it. Hitler is attacking Europe and it looks like the United States may be going to war. Food is rationed and money is tight. Her little sister who is sickly gets all the attention, and she couldn’t be more of a pain if she tried. It takes everything for Millie to stay calm and in control and often she doesn’t.





But there is sand beneath her feet A new neighbor from the city, who has a lot to teach Millie. And surfer boy Rocky to admire even if she doesn't have the guts to talk to him so life is pretty good if not perfect.


This is a time of sunshine, siblings but also of stress. Will Millie find a way to keep her balance as the world looses its balance?



I give War and Willie McCongile five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Millie worries. A lot. Her family is struggling to pay the bills. Her little sister is always sick. Her best friend moved away. Her beloved grandmother just died. And now war is coming. But for someone who appears to be focused on death and fear, Millie is brave, strong, and fierce. She will always stand up for those she loves. Watch out, world. Here comes Millie. Perfect for kids who are looking for the positive in impossible circumstances out of their control.

This historical fiction novel set in California during World War 2 was sort of a miss for me. I felt like it needed something to cheer things up? It was a heavy plot with death and other difficult family situations. Although again- maybe it's me.

This is a novel set in everyday life from September 1941 to February 1942. It is more of a character driven novel where Millie contends with seeing the world shift around her as war becomes a reality for Americans, and as the people and circumstances surrounding her change with the war. Millie is obsessed with remembering dead things as a way to ward off death in her own life. She carries around a notebook she has dubbed the "Book of Dead Things" to record everything from dead sea creatures she finds on the beach, to the names of dead soldiers she hears on the radio, and she even asks new people she meets if anyone they know has died lately to add them to her book. To say the least, this book is fairly morbid and not for a sensitive reader. Millie does come to see some hope for the future by the end of the book, but her downcast attitude and the lack of any exciting plot points made this only an okay read for me.

Content Warning: Bullying, Death, Anxiety (specifically surrounding war)

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an early e-ARC of this book.

I love a good middle grade WWII story. This one, which takes place in San Diego, is different from others I have enjoyed. Millie McGonigle spends her days on the beach of Southern California soaking up the sun and sea salt air. But while her life should be that of a carefree pre-teen, she is obsessed with the doom and gloom that surrounds her: the family financial struggles caused by the Great Depression, her sickly younger sister, the sudden loss of her loving grandmother, and the war in Europe that threatens to reach the US shores. Added to these stresses are the annoying neighbor boys and a fascination with a surfer who she admires from afar.

It is an interesting cast of characters and a fun story, with some dark elements and obsessions by Millie around death. I appreciated a story from this setting, but was somewhat turned off by the darker sides of the story. I would most likely share with older elementary or middle school readers.

Oh myyyyyyfahd, I loved this! There were SO many delightful observations and witty comments! I would love to know a Millie in real life! This is such an amazing middle grade book! As this was my first Karen Cushman book, you better believe I already requested another title from her.

I really wanted to like this book. I loved the writing style, the time period, the way the facts were portrayed, but I just couldn't bring myself to love the main character. For 85% of the book she spent her time being over the top scared of every little thing. She misinterpreted what her grandmother told her before she died and keeps a book of dead things which in and of itself is fine but it felt like her turn around was just a little to fast for my liking. She seems to go from terrified to happy go lucky rather quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of "The War and Millie McGonigle" by Karen Cushman.
This middle-grade historical fiction takes place in California at the beginning of World War II. Millie McGonigle is struggling with the death of her grandmother. She is anxious and depressed, worried about the possibility of war and what it will bring to her community. The author does a good job creating a character that is endearing and understandable. The simplicity of the 1940s era shows middle-grade readers a snapshot of the past. As war becomes inevitable, Millie begins to change, learning to accept the unknowns and make the most of every day.

2.5 Stars

Millie McGonigle is an odd little character. She’s extremely independent and set in her ways. Following the passing of her grandmother, Millie becomes obsessed with death, drawing pictures and keeping a list of dead things in a notebook she always carries with her. It’s a bit much, but mostly feels authentic.

However, in one chapter Millie’s brother brings home a decaying dead for her to draw, and the detail in which it’s described is graphic. This particular scene is a bit icky for me as an adult, and I suggest parents skim it to make sure it’s a good fit for their child.

What made War and Millie McGonigle work for me was the historical aspect. I knew little about California leading up to and during WWII and found that fascinating.

War and Millie McGonigle is OK. It’s not great. It’s not horrible. I’d suggest it as a library read.

War and Millie McGonigle is a good middle grade novel that follows Millie on the homefront during WWII. The setting give a new perspective to many WWII stories that I hadn't read about before. It shows what life was like on the west coast during these uncertain times and how many lived in fear of an attack. There are many eclectic characters who help keep the story moving. As the story progresses, we see Millie handle the grief of losing her grandmother and accepting the changes in her community that are brought on by the war. I would recommend this for students in grade 4 and up due to some of the graphically described deceased creatures in one of her books and the maturity of the main character.

If you were to take a series of Norman Rockwell paintings and transform them into a children’s novel, The War and Millie McGonigle is pretty close to what you would come up with.

Alternatively, if Norman Rockwell was commissioned to create a series of paintings based on Millie McGonigle, he would find it very easy. From the opening scene of Millie sitting with a weathered man fishing for small octopi, both watching the hole. To dragging her little brother and his friends downtown because mom said so, the boys looking interested, excited, worried, and playful while she is their long-suffering caregiver. To filling that awful boy’s clothes with dead things while he’s swimming in the background (or maybe a picture of his mom lecturing him while his filthy clothes tumble out of the washer behind them, a starfish or clam peeking out). To Millie’s cousin exclaiming in shocked German that they are now at war with the Nazis while their patriotic neighbour stares at her in horror. Karen Cushman has created a world full of delightful, funny, and heartwarming moments easily seen in the eye of the reader.

A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

War and Millie McGonigle by Karen Cushman; Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 224 pages ($16.99) Ages 8 to 12. (April 6 publication).

...

Karen Cushman is a master at depicting feisty, smart, resourceful girls navigating tough times, whether in the Middle Ages (Newbery Medal winner "The Midwife's Apprentice") or the California Gold Rush ("The Ballad of Lucy Whipple") Here she offers a vivid portrait of what it was like to be 12 years old in the fall of 1941, living on the California coast as World War II raged across the oceans.

Millie McGonigle lives in a cottage on Mission Beach in San Diego with her parents, her little brother, her sickly little sister and flaky middle-aged cousin Edna. In the wake of the Great Depression, the family is just scraping by. Millie is dealing with the death of her beloved grandmother, the loss of her best friend (who moved away) and her parents' single-minded focus on her ailing sister. She is also consumed with anxiety about the war and obsessed with death, writing the names of dead people and sketching pictures of dead things in the Book of the Dead she is keeping, as she believes her grandmother wanted her to do.

The novel is narrated in Millie's unforgettable voice. Here she talks to her mother about fishermen who lure octopuses by squirting bleach into their hiding places: "I feel sorry for octopuses. I watch them scramble out of their holes in the mud, thinking they're escaping the bleach, only to be caught by something worse - George and a stewpot. Is that what the world is like now - only war and death and winding up in a stew?"

Cushman offers vivid details of a boisterous family and a colorful portrait of 1941 Mission Beach. There's a polio scare after a birthday party; a new friend teaches Millie to do the jitterbug. Millie roams the beach barefoot, takes the family rowboat out alone, goes on a mission to fish for abalone off the rocks in deep water. Amid the radio dispatches and war newsreels that terrify Millie, Cushman includes the ugly realities of anti-German and anti-Asian sentiment directed against neighbors; obnoxious Mrs. Fribble talks with delighted anticipation about getting cheap goods from Japanese citizens who are being sent to internment camps.

Over the course of this poignant, wonderful novel, Millie comes to a new understanding of her mother, her little sister, herself and what her grandmother meant when she urged her to remember the dead.

First sentence: George lifted the slimy creature to his mouth and bit it right between the eyes. I’d seen him and the other Portuguese octopus fishermen do that a hundred times, but it still made me shudder. “Doesn’t that taste muddy and disgusting?” “Nah,” he said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Only salty. I told you, this way he don’t die but only sleeps, stays fresh ’til he’s cooked.” George threw the octopus into a bucket and slid over to another hole in the mud.

Premise/plot: War and Millie McGonigle is a coming of age middle grade historical novel set in California in late 1941 and early 1942. Our heroine, Millie McGonigle, is struggling. Why? Perhaps the better question may be why not?!?! Her grandmother has died. Her sister, Lily, is sick and "stealing" all the attention and love of her parents. Horrible things are happening around the world. What if America enters the war? What if there are really Japanese or German spies?

Millie takes all her anxiety and directs it to her BOOK OF DEATH. Yes, this young heroine likes to make a list of the dead and/or to draw the dead she discovers. She strolls along the beach and sketches all the dead things she finds. (And she's sure to make a great first impression on all the new people she meets as she interrogates them to find out if anyone has died lately so she can record it for her book.)

My thoughts: The cover isn't nearly morbid enough to match the contents of this weird coming of age novel. (If I'm being honest I feel the cover is being intentionally deceptive.) Millie is obsessed with death. OBSESSED.

Her parents don't seem to notice how morbid their daughter has become since the grandma's death. Perhaps because authentically enough the whole family is struggling emotionally and mentally. It's the Depression. They're barely barely making enough money to get by. They eat fish every single day. And one of their daughters is sickly and always needing extra care, extra attention, extra money. Again they are broke, broke, super broke. So perhaps the fact that they're not really connected enough to notice Millie's morbidity isn't all that surprising.

So the whole book is about Millie drawing dead things (like dead dogs, dead octopi, dead flowers, etc.) and making lists of dead people.

It stays dark for so long--despite the cheerful looking cover--that when Millie does finally, finally, finally see some hope for the future....you may be out of patience.

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This book has a disturbing BEYOND DISTURBING hideously EVIL AND WRONG chapter where her brother brings her a DEAD AND DECAYING DOG that he and his friend have dug up to bring her so that she has something new to draw for her book. Think about it. DISTURBING on so many levels. Even worse is that this is a detailed, descriptive chapter so if you have even the teeny tiniest liking for dogs you'd be disgusted, outraged, and ready to throw the book across the room.

Karen Cushman writes about another feisty and smart girl who has to figure out how to navigate through life. In this case, its Millie McGonigle, a12 year old who at the outbreak of World War II was living with her parents, a little brother, a sister in ill-heath and a ditzy cousin in San Diego. The family is just scraping by. Her grandmother has died, her best friend has moved away and Millie constantly worries about the war and death. Told by Millie, the story is poignant as she comes to understand her family.

I did not love this one. While Millie had some character growth/development over the course of the novel, she was just a bit too whiny (and so mean to her poor little sister!). I liked the idea of seeing what life was like in California as America enters WWII, but this story fell a bit flat for me.

“To notice and remember what was good or pretty or meaningful even if it were gone” ❤️ I wanted to hug Millie so many times in War and Millie McGonigle by Karen Cushman. This is strong middle grade historical fiction, set in San Diego at the start of WWII. It was a fascinating glimpse at what life was like at that time for cities on the coast. And the characters were so great. I felt like I was there, with them all. This publishes Tuesday (4/6). #netgalley #warandmilliemcgonigle #karencushman #middlegradehistoricalfiction #bookstagram #read21in21

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's through NetGalley.
Historical fiction set in the early days of World War II.
Millie lives near San Diego and is obsessed with death. She keeps a book that lists dead people and dead things. She feels committed to this as her grandmother gave her this book before she died and told her to focus on the dead. Readers see her stay focused on this for much of the book.
The McGonicle family, like many at the time, were struggling with unemployment and poverty. We see this interpreted through Millie's eyes. In many ways, this is a growing up book with World War II as a the background. Readers see how Millie sees her place in the family and her complicated relationships with her younger siblings and her parents. She is a typical pre-teen of any period but the struggles are tailored to the 1940's timeframe. Her emotional struggles are made worse by her method of coping with her grandmother's death. She stays focused on death and is afraid to let this go for fear of more harm coming. With so much else happening, she does not get the support she needs to move forward in the grief process. Eventually, through a chance interaction at the beach, she comes to understand what her grandmother meant by remember the dead - celebrate the joy, remember their lives.
One chapter stands out as too graphic. When her brother brings the decaying dead dog home, that feels like a line crosser so the book only got 3-stars from me. The author's point could have been made in a less graphic manner.
Otherwise, a well thought out book with historical facts woven into Millie's story.

I thought this was a very interesting take on WWII on the home front. There are not that many middle grade historical fiction books set in the United States during WWII. I liked the character of Millie. She is growing up on the coast of California and after her grandmother dies she has this notebook that she keeps tracks of dead things, while trying to figure out life during a depression, and then the start of WWII and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Millie starts to learn through family and friend on how to make it count with what you got and how to be happy again. This story shows the side of children during this time period and how hard it was on them to understand what was happening in the world.

Millie is a young girl with big responsibilities, and a huge grief in her heart. Millie has lost her best friend and confidant, her grandmother. Her family doesn't have much money but they live in paradise, San Diego. But when the war starts coming for the US her fear also rises, but her parents have finally found jobs, but that also leaves Millie to watch her younger sister and brother.

This is a awesome book about a young girl coming to gripes with what life has given her. I have to admit I love books that take place in places I have been stationed it makes me homesick for my friends I left in those places but it is still fun. So that is what drew me to the book but the story caught my interest and kept me captivated until I was finished, and I hope it does the same for you.