Paper Faces [Hardcover]

Rachel Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1993

Although life in London during World War II has been difficult for Dot and her mother, the young girl is frightened by the changes that the end of the war brings, particularly the impending return of the father she has never known.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Along with peace, V-Day introduces a host of new worries for Dot, a young Londoner. After the death of her sickly infant brother, Dot and her flighty mother, Gloria, leave the bomb-scarred city for the country home of the genteel (and aptly named) Mrs. Hollidaye. As much a British stereotype as Dot's vaguely tarty, Cockney mother, the pearl-and-tweed-clad Mrs. Hollidaye could easily be the original English Rose. Though she is by far the most nurturing and imaginative person Dot meets, a stiff upper lip keeps the gracious matron from openly acknowledging her protegee's worst fears. Instead, she slowly and subtly helps Dot muster up the strength to cope with her own confusion, Gloria's immaturity and the return of Dot's father, whose activities during the war have somehow earned Gloria's contempt. Although Anderson ( The Bus People ) never quite offsets the melancholy, distancing tone of this story, she shows enormous skill in imagining a child's perspective on events bewildering even to adults. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-12. Like Wolff's Make Lemonade , this story gives a human face to childhood poverty. The child this time is preschooler Dot who has spent her life huddled in the London slums with her mother during the Blitz. As World War II finally ends, Dot dreads one thing--change. She can't remember her father and doesn't want him to come back and disrupt things. She tries to be a "good girl," to stay safe, even as she feels herself breaking into pieces. Anderson's great achievement is to remain true to Dot's bewildered point of view. Occasionally she's too articulate, but we see what she sees. Her images are of flames, of rescue workers struggling in rubble, of shattered glass and gaping craters. Dot's mother is drawn with humanity: She's young, ignorant, overwhelmed, dreaming of the movies and the royal princesses. When Dot gets a chance to spend time in the country, she dreads the change, but she finds not only food and space, but also beauty--a whole outdoors world of color, movement, animals, and flowers. She also discovers a loving mentor who talks to her and teaches her to read. When Dot must go back to London, the memories of the country help her be brave. Her father finally does come home, and the anticlimax is shattering: No hero, he's ordinary; he had a breakdown in the war. Dot understands that, and she'll stay with him; he needs her. "We have to live where we live." This is a YA novel in which the hero who goes on a journey and returns home transformed is a small child. Anderson adds depth to the unusual World War II adventure in which the kid gets a chance to be heroic. The last thing Dot wants is adventure. She finds the courage of ordinary life. Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 150 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holth & Co (J); 1St Edition edition (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805025278
• ISBN-13: 978-0805025279
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,418,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Describes life in 1940's well., September 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Paper Faces (Hardcover)

This book was very well written and Dot's feeling's were described very well. It was a great story and helped me understand what life was really like for people during and after the war. The ending was a bit disappointing, as it ended fairly abruptly, though I thought the rest of the book was very good.