The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman

It is 1949 but at first the Cold War doesn’t mean that much to an eighth grade girl in Catholic school in Hollywood.  Francine’s number one goal is to stay out of trouble until Sophie becomes her best friend and she learns that sometimes trouble can have purpose.  The Hollywood blacklisting during the Red Scare has always intrigued me.  This book nearly lost me until we finally got to the real McCarthy era stuff.  At first I thought one more gee, jeepers or ye gods and I would soon go homicidal.  However once we got past the meet the characters, oh look Sophie is a bad girl, and into bomb fears and accusing neighbors of being commies that was when the story really started.  Definitely more middle grades than a lot of what we have been reading.  I like the cover except the feet are little girl feet, not I am becoming a young woman feet.