Kate Albus

It's 1944. Dory Byrnes lives in New York City with her brothers Fish and Pike. Her mother is dead, and her Pops has gone to war, so the three siblings are supposed to look out for each other and listen to Fish, who's 17. 12-year-old Dory finds this hard at times, and the siblings get in a few scrapes, which leads to their new landlord reporting them to Child Protective Services. The siblings are afraid that they'll be sent to orphanages, until Dory makes a discovery. She learns that the third, fourth, and fifth floors of Caputo's, the restaurant where Pops arranged for the kids to get a meal once a week, are closed off, accessible only by an ancient dumbwaiter that nobody has used in upwards of thirty years. When Dory sneaks in one night, she's hoping to find treasure. Instead, she finds an abandoned hotel, which becomes the Byrnes kids' sanctuary. But when the letters from Pops stop coming, they start to wonder what will become of them.

There are lots of books about World War II for kids, but few about the US home front. This one is delightfully Old New York, with all the character and bustle of the city. I did think it glossed over the difficulties of getting in and out of the abandoned hotel, but on the other hand, what kid wouldn't love finding a secret hideout and outsmarting mean adults like Dory did? There's also lots of complicated growing-up emotions that are portrayed so very well. This book isn't quite as heartwarming as A Place to Hang the Moon, but it's all kinds of charming.… (meer)

Three children are left adrift with no home when their unloving grandmother dies. They saw her as unfeeling and cold, and they were correct. She didn't leave any instructions or plans for her grandchildren in her will. She did leave money, but no security. There was an uncle present at the gathering after the funeral, but that is the last he is mentioned.

Not only are they without anyone to care for them, but WWII hit England with a terror of bombs. It was difficult to find safe houses for one child let alone three children who wanted to stay together. Through their sheer determination, they remained together.

Their experiences were at times caring, but mainly cruel. They experienced a host of nasty occurrences, and were not loved until they found a wonderful librarian who wanted and loved them.… (meer)

First sentence: If you were looking for Dory Byrne--not that there's any reason you would be--you'd most likely find her at the Castle. Which makes it sound as if this is a story about a princess. It isn't. Castle Clinton, as it was known to most people, wasn't actually a castle at all. It was--or had been--at various points in its history: 1) a fort, 2) a restaurant and opera house, 3) an immigration processing center, 4) an aquarium, 5) a ruin. Which is what it was now. An empty place, half-demolished. Derelict. Dangerous, even. But a place whose remaining ramparts, if you were a slightly underfed girl of twelve who wasn't afraid to climb over a little rubble, provided an excellent view of the Statue of Liberty. So now you know.

Premise/plot: Dory and her family--siblings--are on their own...mostly. Their father is away fighting in the war (World WAR II) and the three siblings are relying heavily on each other AND on their neighbors AND on their community. But a difficult, uncompromising landlord changes their more relaxed approach to surviving. Can Dory brainstorm a way to keep their family together and safe while they wait for news of their father? [And the funds he sends...]

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. It is set in the Lower East Side of New York City during the Second World War. I loved the setting, the story, the characters.… (meer)

Twelve-year-old Dory confides in "Libby," the Statue of Liberty, while her Pop is away in the war and she is scrabbling together a normal-ish existence with her 17-year-old brother Fish and their younger brother, Pike. When their old, kind landlord dies and is replaced by a kid-hating grump, it's Dory who finds a safe place for them to go: the upstairs floors of Mr. Caputo's seafood restaurant, which used to be an old hotel, and which are accessible only via an old dumbwaiter.

Despite the fact that Fish is nominally in charge, it's Dory who's the problem-solver (and the risk-taker), the brave one who gets them out of scrapes and tells lies when necessary. Their worry about their Pop is constant, but there are light moments throughout too, like a visit to the Empire State Building and one to Coney Island. Other than the new landlord, most neighbors on the Lower East Side are kind, and help the Byrnes out by providing food, newspapers, information, and in one case, impersonation. The Byrnes experience grief by proxy (their friends Vincent and Irene's family gets a dreaded Western Union telegram), but ultimately, their pop comes home.

Equally good as A Place to Hang the Moon (also featuring three children, set during WWII, but a few years earlier, and on the other side of the pond).… (meer)