Book Review: Dear America: My Secret War, The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck (Long Island, New York 1942) by Mary Pope Osborne

Maddie Beck and her mother live in a boarding house on Long Island, New York, while her father, a naval officer, is stationed overseas in the Pacific. Out of devotion to her father, Maddie makes friends in her new town and, with her new beau Johnny, starts a group for young people to help with the war effort. Everything seems to be going grand, and Maddie is flat-out enjoying the busyness and romanticism of the war, until near-tragedy strikes her own family, and she realizes that war is devastation, not fun and games. This book was a delight to read and is a great addition to the series.