Jingle Boys
1943 — Brooklyn, New York
​Wally Lipkin is a Jewish piano player, gifted in his musical ability but cursed with a secret anxiety problem that causes him to lose consciousness at inopportune times. With his eighteenth birthday fast approaching, Uncle Sam will be calling him to fight overseas—a death sentence for a guy like Wally. If he reveals his condition to avoid the draft, he'll find himself locked up in a sanatorium like his crazy uncle.
Desperate for a solution, Wally convinces his brother Max and their friend Frankie to join him in entering a radio station jingle contest that promises the winners local fame, fifty clams, and a stateside government job. A win would allow Wally to serve his country without facing the certain death he'd find on a foreign battlefield.
But when an alluring singer who looks like a motion picture starlet enters the scene, Wally's plans change dramatically. Now, his choices and his jingles may not only put his life at risk, they may turn the tide of the war.
Jingle Boys is a tale of friendship, bravery, self-acceptance, and the power of music to change the world.
Readers' Favorite Five-Star rating!
BOOKS
The French Girl's War
1939 — Avoine, France
Sophie Claveaux is an eighteen-year-old Jewish farm girl who carries a curse. Her mother died giving birth to her and her father has long suffered the loss. Believing herself to be the bringer of death, Sophie decides to change her fate, leave the family farm, and study art in Paris. But before she can enact her plan, her father joins the war, renewing her fear that her curse will always prevail.
Forced to abandon her dreams of Paris, Sophie is sent to live in safety with her grandmother—only to learn there are no safe places in a time of war.
Now, Sophie must fight to protect her grandmother, her new home, and the curious blind artist who could change everything.
A compelling coming-of-age drama set against the backdrop of World War II, The French Girl's War is the story of unexpected courage and surprising hope.
Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist!
