Synopsis
Martin Conway comes from a family filled with heroes and disgraces. His grandfather was a statesman who worked at the US Embassy in London during WWII. His father is an alcoholic who left his family. His sister is an overachieving Ivy League graduate. And Martin? Martin is stuck in between—floundering.
But during the summer after 7th grade, Martin meets a boy who will change his life forever. Jimmy Harker appears one night with a deceptively simple question: Will you help?
Where did this boy come from, with his strange accent and urgent request? Is he a dream? It's the most vivid dream Martin's ever had. And he meets Jimmy again and again—but how can his dreams be set in London during the Blitz? How can he see his own grandather, standing outside the Embassy? How can he wake up with a head full of people and facts and events that he certainly didn't know when he went to sleep—but which turn out to be verifiably real?
The people and the scenes Martin witnesses have a profound effect on him. They become almost more real to him than his waking companions. And he begins to believe that maybe he can help Jimmy. Or maybe that he must help Jimmy, precisely because all logic and reason argue against it.
This is a truly remarkable and deeply affecting novel about fathers and sons, heroes and scapegoats. About finding a way to live with faith and honor and integrity. And about having an answer to the question: What did you do to help?
Children's Literature
When Martin Conway inherits an antique radio from his grandmother, he soon finds that the radio connects him with a boy. Through the radio, Martin begins to experience this boy's life during the Blitz in London. At first, Martin is sure he is imagining things. After some research, however, he realizes that the things he sees at night are true historic facts. When an encounter with a bully at school strengthens Martin's determination to leave the exclusive prep school his mother insists he attend, he asks to use this radio as a springboard for a school project. The project culminates in a visit to London with Martin's father, an alcoholic on tense terms with Martin. That trip allows many ill feelings in Martin's family and others to be put to rest. Once again, Edward Bloor creates a masterful tale of human emotion. He expertly weaves fantasy, historical fiction, and coming-of-age pains into a touching and thought-provoking story that also explores how history is made and sometimes unmade.