ISABEL'S WAR

A young woman comes of age with World War II looming in the background.

It is summer, 1942, and World War II is less than a year old for the United States. Isabel Brandt, 12, and her parents are vacationing at a small, unstylish resort in the Catskills. As they arrive she is teetering on the edge of adolescence; while not selfish, she is self-absorbed. Also visiting at Moskin’s Shady Pines is Helga, a German refugee, the somewhat-older niece of Mrs. Brandt’s best friend. The beautiful, sophisticated older girl is a mystery Isabel is determined to solve, especially when circumstances force her to live with the Brandts. As Helga’s unhappy story unfolds, Isabel’s world widens, and she begins to appreciate others and take brave stands, even trying to bring German concentration camps to the attention of others. The evocation of wartime is real; this view is from someone who was there. Isabel’s experiences of school, friends, a boy, movies, crooners, rationing and her brother’s enlistment combine with what she learns about Helga’s life and tortured secret to summon the times and authentically evoke a girl becoming a person aware of others, thus adding value to her life and the lives of others.

Published posthumously, an effective exploration of both character and times.