Crew's Quarters: Bertie's War

I love books! Really! If you look through my many bookshelves, you'll find something from almost every genre. When my kids were little, I always heard that the best way to make your kids readers is to model reading for them. The Inspector and I always joked that my kids would HATE reading because Mom always had her nose in a book and ignored them!  Fortunately, that didn't happen and we've managed to create a bunch of book lovers. (Bunch of video game lovers, too.... but that would be a different post!) 

So, when I had an opportunity  to review Bertie's War I was pretty happy to accept. 

                                                  

Genre: Tween Fiction

$7.99

From the Publisher: 

Everything has been going wrong for Bertie lately. No matter how hard she tries to do and say the right thing, Bertie keeps tumbling into embarrassing--and sometimes dangerous--situations. Her stern father has too many rules, her know-it-all sister won't stop teasing her, and her mischievous younger brother keeps getting into trouble. But what makes her really afraid are those Communist missiles pointed right at the U.S. As Bertie starts seventh grade in the fall of 1962, news of these missiles throws the nation into a panic and Bertie suddenly feels completely out of control. Can Bertie confront an ugly truth about herself and face her fears--once and for all?

About the Author:

Barbara Blakey is the author of the literature based language arts program Total Language Plus.  Bertie's War is her first work of fiction.

My Opinion: 

The book was well written from a technical standpoint. I think that Ms Blakey did a fine job telling her story. Unfortunately, I wasn't comfortable with the story. I know that I was supposed to see a scared pre-teen coming to grips with growing up in a tension filled world. But, as I read the story, I couldn't help seeing a seriously troubled girl living in fear of her abusive father in a dysfunctional family. Far into the book, it is revealed that all is not as grim as it appears but by that point I was already troubled by what I read. I have to say that overall, this was not a book I enjoyed. Although there are not many fiction books set in the cold war era, this is probably not a book I will have Bella read.

Literature is one of those things that moves everyone a bit differently. Feel free to have click here to have a look at what my fellow reviews have to say.

Disclaimer: This book was provided free of charge for review purposes. No other compensation was provided. My opinion is entirely my own.