LILY'S CROSSING

Winner of a 1998 Newbery Honor Medal, Giff's novel is intensely evocative of time (1944), place (Rockaway), and emotion (excitement, fear, loss and hope). Master storyteller Christina Moore gives voice to every emotion and to each character--spunky Lily; short-tempered and officious Gram; kind and gentle Poppy; and shy, hesitant Albert, with his thick Hungarian accent and the terrible secret he introduces to the once-idyllic summer at the beach. Moore's Lily clings desperately to childhood, innocence and fragments of control, with her silly songs, her forced cheer and her foolish lies. Finally, the realities of war leave Lily throbbing with sadness and ripe for the promise of the future beyond the loss that Giff's closing chapters provide. Moore ably captures this full palette of emotions. T.B. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 98]