The Art of Keeping Cool

The War At Home

Fear permeates the Rhode Island coastal town where Robert, his mother, and sister are living out the war with his paternal grandparents: Fear of Nazi submarines offshore. Fear of Abel Hoffman, a German artist living reclusively outside of town. And for Robert, a more personal fear, of his hot-tempered, controlling grandfather.

As Robert watches the townspeople's hostility toward Hoffman build, he worries about his sensitive cousin Elliot's friendship with the artist. And he wonders more and more about the family secret everyone seems to be keeping from him--a secret involving Robert's father, a bomber pilot in Europe. Will Elliot's ability to detach himself from the turmoil around him be enough to sustain him when prejudice and suspicions erupt into violence? And can Robert find his own way to deal with the shocking truth about his family's past?

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 05/01/2002
ISBN: 9780689837883
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 7.60h x 5.10w x 0.80d
Award: Sunshine State Young Reader's Award - Nominee
Award: Young Hoosier Book Award - Nominee

Review Citations: PW Notes and Reprints 06/10/2002 pg. 63
Kliatt 07/01/2002 pg. 21
Christian Home & School 10/09/2002 pg. 29
Publishers Weekly 06/10/2002

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 42449 / Art of Keeping Cool
Reading Level: 5 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 7