Synopsis
Pearl Harbor got bombed. Rachel thought John Alan did it. He did not.
That's how John Alan Feester sums up what happened in The Rachel Resistance. In The Feester Filibuster, which tells his side of the story, John Alan shows he's not a spy at all even though he does a lot of spying to prove it.
Spies may or may not lurk in the shadows, but mysteries still abound in Apache, Oklahoma. A package holding an angel begins to tell the untold story behind John Alan's mother. The previously silent Simon Green begins talking and can't seem to stop and in the process reveals a secret about himself. And everyone keeps watch on whether blue stars turn to gold in the windows of residents like Mrs. Snow.
School Library Journal
Gr 4-7-Life on the home front is richly depicted in this touching story in which World War II is the backdrop for a battle between two fifth graders. The story is John Alan Feester's response to the suspicions raised by Rachel Elizabeth Dalton in The Rachel Resistance (Eakin, 2001). In that book, he is new in town, and she suspects him of being a spy responsible for the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Set in Apache, OK, John Alan's side of the tale is filled with conflicts with Rachel, his own unhappiness about his mother's leaving the family, and the need to keep the truth about her a secret. A new friend, Simon Green, is instrumental in encouraging a truce between the feuding classmates. The historical background is excellently integrated into the story. A great deal about how Americans at home reacted to and dealt with the war is given here. But on a larger scale, Griffis introduces the prejudice against Japanese Americans as a friend who has moved to California writes to Rachel, John Alan, and Simon about classmates and a teacher who are suddenly forced to leave their homes and go to internment camps. The sadness and worry about the war and the poignant losses in this small town are clearly felt. This is a compelling book, filled with humor, emotion, and well-drawn characters.-Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.