Lily's Crossing

Giff, Patricia Reilly. 1999. Lily's Crossing. New York: Dell Yearling. ISBN 0440414539

Plot Summary

Lily is that girl your mom always warned you about. Snoopy. Borderline disrespectful. Flighty. Reckless. She was determined not to be friends with the Hungarian refugee, Albert, who was there for the summer. All that changes when Albert sees someone throw a kitten in a sack into the water, but he can't swim to save it. Lily rescues the kitten, and she and Albert learn they may have more in common than they realized. But something is standing in the way of their fragile, fledgling friendship. It's the lies Lily can't seem to stop saying. And one of those lies she fears has put Albert's life in danger. She hopes she will have the courage to make it right before it's too late.

Critical Analysis

Lily's Crossing is a historical novel set along the Atlantic coastline in the summer of 1944. The protagonist, Lily, is not your normal heroine. She is flawed in so many ways, but that helps to make her more real. As she is struggling with difficulties in her own family, including having her dad go off to war, she is also struggling internally, trying to confront the effect of her lies. 

The pacing of the story is fairly slow, which probably matches the pace of life of that region at that time. The author is not overly descriptive, though she does an excellent job of creating a coastal feel. While there are some period-specific references, such as what movies were playing at the cinema, overall I thought the book was lacking in historical setting. It was difficult for me to remember sometimes that this story didn't take place in, say, the 1970s. Then a reference to the war would pop up, and I would think, "Oh, yeah. World War II." 

Professional Praise

1998 Newbery Honor Book

1998 ALA Notable Book

From Booklist: "With wry comedy and intense feeling, and without intrusive historical detail, Giff gets across a strong sense of what it was like on the home front during World War II."

Connections

Find out what happens to Lily's friend Margaret in Giff's 2007 book, Willow Run. ISBN 978-0440238010

Or check out these other historical novels by Patricia Reilly Giff:

Nory Ryan's Song. 2002. ISBN 978-0440418290

Maggie's Door. 2005. ISBN 978-0440415817

Or read more about what life was like in the U.S. during World War II:

The Home Front Kid. By Del. S. Placides. 2014. ISBN  978-1939472137

World War II for Kids. By Richard Panchyk. 2002. ISBN 978-1556524554