My Secret War By: Mary Pope Osbourne

1. My Secret WarBy: Mary Pope Osbourne Report by: Claire - 10 Due: November 2, 2004 Language Arts The book, My Secret War, is aboutliving in World War II. It teaches you about friendship and courage.It is a great book.

2. Summary The story, My Secret War, takes place during World War II. Madeline Beck is new at her school in New York. She doesn’t have any friends and she isn’t very pretty. Her father is away at war, and she lives in a boarding house with her mother. One day, Maddie tells Johnny Vecchio, the best looking boy is class, that her father is in the military. He thinks that this is swell. They begin to spend time with each other because they enjoy discussing the war together. They do look-outs on the beach to make sure that there aren’t any enemy ships coming. They find a tree stump where they can leave notes for each other if one of them can’t go to the beach. They use a code so no one else can read it. They also form a club called, “Kids Fight for Freedom” and anyone between the ages of six through thirteen can join. One day, Maddie and her mother get a telegram saying that their father has been injured. They are both very nervous. Later on, they learn that he is okay. In the end of the story, they get another telegraph saying that Maddie’s father is coming home. Unfortunately, they will have to move to San Francisco, and will have to leave their new friends. They are very sad, yet happy to have the family re-united again.

3. Characters The story, My Secret War, has five main characters. One of them is Maddie Beck. She is a young girl who is living in New York boarding house with her mother. Her father is away at war. She is new in her class and is having a hard time trying to fit in. Another main character is Mrs. Beck. She is Maddie's mother. She is trying to give her daughter a good life, and still keep a good life of her own. She is a very loving, and caring person. Johnnie Vecchio is also a main character. He is in Maddie’s class. He is her best friend, and her first boyfriend. Theo is another main character. He lives in Maddie’s boarding house. He knows a lot about the war. And is a big help to Maddie and Johnnie in their war investigations. The last main character is Clara. She also lives in the boarding house. She dates Theo and also helps Johnnie and Maddie in their investigations.

4. Setting The setting of the story is in New York during World War II. The main characters live in a boarding house in New York. They live by a harbor. The boarding house where the Beck’s live was called the Mansion by the Sea, because they lived by the ocean.

5. About the Author Mary Pope Osborne grew up in the military. By the time she was fifteen, she had lived in Austria, Florida, Oklahoma, and four different army posts in Virginia. As a child, she enjoyed acting, and working behind the scenes of plays. Mary Pope Osborne went to the University of South Carolina to study drama. She then discovered the world of mythology and comparative religion. She became a religion major. Some of the books that she has written are, The Magic Tree House books, and My Secret War.

6. Book Review The book, My Secret War, is an excellent book. It takes place during World War II, which is a time period that I am very interested in. The characters are interesting and realistic. It is not unbelievable or boring. There is never a dull moment. The author did an excellent job with facts and teaching the reader about World War II and giving the reader facts, and in a way that gets the reader interested. If I were to rate this book out of five stars, I would give it four.