Customer Reviews

Stepping on the Cracks

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Stepping On The Cracks is a great book filled with excitement and patriotism. In this book young and courageous kids bump into many surprises along the way. This book takes place during the time of World War II in the tiny town of College Hill. The book focuses on Margaret, Elizabeth, and Gordy. Margaret and Elizabeth are best friends that can't stand Gordy who is, of course, the school bully. The two girls and their families are going through a rough stage that includes a lot of stress and anxiety because both Elizabeth and Margaret have brothers that are fighting in the war. On top of everything going on with their families they have their own personal issues with Gordy; he keeps picking on everyone in the 6th grade, especially Margaret and Elizabeth. Elizabeth, who can sometimes have a bad temper, wants sweet revenge, and she gets even more than what she ever thought she could get. Margaret, who follows along and usually does what Eizabeth wants, gets persuaded and joins in on the whole revenge idea.

Just when Elizabeth and Margaret started to enjoy blackmail they realize that they want to help Gordy. Without much enthusiasm Gordy allows them to help and for the girls, the idea of revenge fades away more and more. Gordy's family wasn't an average one and Margaret and Elizabeth see a different side of him and they learn more about what his family is like "behind the scenes." Both of the girls try to help out and they want to tell someone about Gordy's little secret but they promised not to tell a living soul. Finally, not even Gordy can stand trying to solve his problem so the 3 kids go to a loyal friend, Barbara, who helps out more than what was required.

I think that readers from ages 9- 13 will enjoy reading this book. Stepping On The Cracks teaches many valuable lessons. I definitely recommend this book to people interested in books about friendship and how friendships evolve. The main theme in this book is the importance of trust. Throughout the book, that's a quality that the characters demonstrate.

This book is about two best friends, Margaret and Elizabeth, experiencing a thrilling adventure as they discover the secrets of their worst enemy.
Back in College Hill, Maryland during World War 2, the girls were filled with patriotism like everyone else in America. Their bigger brothers, Jimmy and Joe were in war then. However, they were having their own private war against the worst sixth grade bully, Gordy.
When Gordy Smith tore down their tree house, they decided to get even with him. They followed him to his hideout in the woods, across the train tracks. That was when they found out that Stuart, Gordy's elder brother was hiding there, instead of fighting for America like their brothers. The girls were wrathful at first, but when the deserter had pneumonia, Margaret and Elizabeth sympathized. They helped by bring food and medicine that Gordy could not afford to do so.
As winter deepens, Stuart's condition worsens. The children decided to get help from Barbara, a war widow, who was also a classmate of Stuart.
Just as Stuart was getting better, resting in Barbara's house, his father punched Gordy and his family members. Thus, he decided to protect his family from his abusive, alcoholic father. He was beaten up badly in the process and was sent to hospital. His identity and him being a deserter was found out eventually.
Just before the incident, the news of Margaret's brother being killed in action broke out. Grief filled the girl's heart. Although her brother has won many medals for his bravery, nothing was able to substitute his presence.
Margaret's mother found out about her helping a deserter, while her son got killed in the war. She was ashamed of her own daughter. However, the girl was determined not to regret her own decision, no matter what her mother had to say.
The book is full of agitation and excitement. There are twists and turns along the story. It shows us how lucky the children of today are, compared to Margaret, Elizabeth and Gordy.

This is a good book for adults and children to read. It reveals how intolerance of other peoples views can be so harmful.
Elizabeth and Margaret start out having a romantic view of the war - both of their brothers are enlisted, but as the book progresses and they are helping a deserter they begin to see a different side of war.
Gordy, Doug and Toad terrorize Margaret and Elizabeth - each for their own disturbed reasons, especially Gordy who has problems of his own that he feels responsible for but are too much of a burden for a child to bear.
The girls find out a secret that Gordy will do anything to keep. Because of the secret, Elizabeth and Margaret learn more about Gordy and his family than he wants them to know.
I think Mary Downing Hahn did a beautiful job of protraying the ravages of war.

Nowadays there are so few books written about the era of war times, and fewer about the families of military personal and what they go through. Stepping On The Cracks is a wonderful book written about two friends Margaret and Elizabeth and the notorious class bully Gordy. Gordy continously bothers and bugs the two girls and the only thing that they want is for him to leave them alone. When all hope seems lost they discover something that Gordy his hiding. Gordy is doing everything to help his brother Stuart (who is a deserter from the army) keep hidden so he is not taken away. Of course Elizabeth and Margaret take full advantage of this situation, so they make a plan to blackmail Gordy. This plan goes well for a few days but Stuart gets desperatly sick and is in need of a doctor. The girls do not want to turn him in, so they do their best to take care of him from giving him soup to playing "hookie" at school. Margaret at first did not accept Stuart because her very own brother was fighting in the war and risking his life. She thought he was a plain sissy but as she gets to know him better she realizes that there is a gentler side to him. Eventually, she gets feel sympathetic for him but his health was getting worse by the minute. This book goes through all the different feelings that Elizabeth has with her brother and family to her own views about war. She struggles over the choices about turning him in or if she should take him to see the doctor. Mary Downing Hahn is a brilliant writer and this book goes through many twists and turns.

I really liked that the book was written by the view of a kid who had her own personal views conflicting from her family. It shows that we should have our own views which is very important nowadays. It also teaches us to look beyond someones outside to what might be the problem of their actions. Gordy had huge family problems that attributed to his snappy attitude and controlling personality. These days kids just take things for what they are and they either accept it or they don't. If they dont accept something they leave it alone without any followup on what might be the cause. Im glad that someone had the guts and talent to tackle these huge topics.

I think that anyone will enjoy this book, whether it be a light fun read or if you want to really soak all the information this book offers. It has a very wide range of readability, I think that anyone can read it from a 5 grader doing a book report or an adult.

You will be suprised by the twist ending as I was and I hope you enjoy this wonderful book!

A great book for all ages about life during World War II. Elizabeth, Margaret, and Gordy face many problems and solutions the whole way in this great adventure. I could hardly put it down!

BOOK REVIEW

Have you ever wondered what it must've been like being a teenager during WWII? Do you know what it was like having a brother in the army during the war? If not then read Stepping On the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn. This is a very interesting historical fiction novel about a thirteen-year-old girl named Margaret and her best friend Elizabeth who are living during the time of WWII. Both Margaret and Elizabeth have brothers fighting in the war. Both girls despise the school bully, Gordy, who in turn despises them, until they uncover one of his darkest secrets. Throughout the story, the girls learn to like Gordy, and help him out, all while risking their lives to help him. If you are just dying to get your hands on a good historical fiction, then this is the book for you.

One reason I absolutely loved this book is because the characters relate to me so well, that I can almost imagine that the entire story is happening to me. The characters are just average middle schoolers like myself who like to go on adventures and live on the edge every once in a while, which I think is really cool. An example of something that I can relate to is when a bully at school teases Margaret. I hated it when people used to do that to me, so I know just how she feels.

Another key factor in the greatness of this book is the Vocabulary. The author writes this entire book as if she is a new author trying to make a name for herself. Every single detail is described, and described very vividly at that. For example the author turns what could be an ordinary sentence, into something spectacular: The sun emerged from the depths of the night, just like the petals of a rose in bloom. It's sentences like that one that makes this book great to read.

The final thing that I have to evaluate on this book is the fact that the author was not afraid to write about what was really happening. She wasn't afraid of telling you how things really went down inside the book. For instance, when she talks about Gordy's father, she is very frank and says that he is an abusive, white trash husband and father.

In conclusion, this historical fiction novel is a wonderful piece of literature, and should be enjoyed by all.

I have read so many books pertaining to World War II, but none of them has had such an effect on me than Stepping on the Cracks. Stepping on the Cracks is about two young girls named Margaret and Elizabeth living in College Hill. College Hill is a town that has been thrown apart by war- young boys everywhere are off at war, and a few have even already been killed. Jimmy, Maragaret's brother, and Joe, Elizabeth's brother, are among those off at war. The story shows how the events and battles in Europe and Asia affect life back at home in the average American town.

One of the reasons this book has set itself apart from others I have read is that it gives an American child's point of view. Almost all of the other books I have read have been about the Holocaust- from both Jewish and Christian children and adult's point of views. There is hardly a word mentioned about the Holocaust in this book. Battles are mentioned as letters come home, giving blow-by-blow accounts, but the main story is focused on a little war going on in College Hill.

Elizabeth and Margaret's worst enemy is Gordy Smith, and they are trying to get revenge on him for something he did. So they follow him to his "secret hideout" where they find quite a surprise- Gordy has been hiding his brother Stuart, a deserter, from his parents and the rest of the town. When Stuart gets sick, Elizabeth and Margaret join forces with Gordy to help Stuart get better and protect him from his harsh, criminal father.

Perhaps it is simply because of the times we are in now that made me like this book so much. Somehow, all the other books on World War II I have read have always seemed impossible, that such a thing could never happen again. The events of September 11th have proved that such a thing CAN happen again, and to the great country of America nonetheless. This book helped me to understand what could, but hopefully will not, happen to my life. I just hope that it never will.

I love the book Stepping on the Cracks. It is a spectacular book. It is about Elizabeth and Margret and how they come to find out that Gordy is hiding his brother Stuart in the woods away from the army.Also when Margret's brother dies in the war every thing goes wrong except for Stuart asks Barbra to mary him.This a good book for boys and girls ages 9 to 12.

Stepping On The Cracks is a great book.It takes place in College Hill between 1944-1945.It`s during the Civil War.Their main problem is a boy named Gordy.He is the biggest bully in College Hill.Once they find out Gordy`s brother has deserted the army and is sick they go to help.It is a great book.You should definitly read it.

I really liked this book. It was about World War 2 times, and I thought that was interesting. It really touches your emotions. I could really understand how the people felt about Hitler. I also wish the book had gone on longer. I believe readers older than 12 would enjoy this book.