I've read a lot of World War II based historical fiction through the years. What I appreciated about this was the reframe of a child experiencing wartime and Millie's voice in particular. She was just such an honest narrator as this was more of her diary. I also appreciated that the exploration of a grief. This wasn't just about the war, but the "stuff" she was working through as a human. I originally had this as an e-book, but opted to move over to the audiobook. I think that format worked really well for this story as it was Millie offering recaps of her reality. This was just a good, little read that I'm glad I finally made my way to. Thanks to NetGalley for the access to this book.

Review published on Goodreads, 11 November 2021:

The best part of WAR AND MILLIE MCGONIGLE is that it exudes a very strong sense of place. It brings Mission Beach in the 1940's to vivid life, evoking the sights, smells, and sounds that must have pervaded it then. Cushman also creates a vibrant community of colorful characters, including the flawed but lovable McGonigle family. Because it all seems so authentic, it's easy to feel what Millie & Co. are feeling as war comes home to them—worry, panic, paranoia, fear, grief, etc.

For me, the big problem with the novel is that it has no real plot. Millie doesn't have a story goal to keep the story focused, so it meanders around without a solid direction. This made the tale sag in places and veer off course in others. What results is an uneven narrative that didn't engage me quite like I wanted it to. It felt almost like the beginning of an unfinished story, like a first book in a series maybe. Which isn't to say I disliked the book. It just didn't engage and move me as much as MG WWII fiction usually does. For me, WAR AND MILLIE MCGONIGLE was just an okay read.

This is a historical fiction middle grade. This book we follow a young girl named Millie, and this book take places during WWII. This book gives us a kids view of the USA during WWII. I found most of this book very neat, but some of the book was boring or just weird. I also do not think my daughter would want to read this book. Overall, I found this book just ok. I did find the characters fun to follow.

This book is a going of age cerated in World War ll. Millie is 12 years old in a very uncertain and fearful time in her life. She is coping with loss and challenges of growing up. This is an interesting story of World War ll

Thank you to NetGalley for an eArc of this book.

In short, this is a solid book that would have strongly appealed to me as a kid. Now as a grown-up reader I wonder if this angle of a young White girl on the home front during WWII has been played out. While this one does nod to the challenges that all Asian-Americans would have experienced during this war, as well as the suspicions that fell on German or Italian-Americans, the main focus is on Millie and her family.

The McGonigles are intrepid, having come through the Great Depression and are still struggling to make ends meet. Millie's Gran had just died, and news of the war brings even more changes. The story nails topics like friendship and irritating siblings and wanting to make a difference, and whether fighting in the war is more valuable than serving in other ways. Millie's obsession with her Dead Book, in which she draws pictures and writes the names of dead people and things around her, was delightfully morbid.

Note: a fair amount of conversation focuses on death and war. A scene with a dead dog is a little intense.

I really enjoyed this book about what it was like to be an American girl during WWII. That specific perspective is surprisingly underrepresented in middle grade literature. It would make a good companion for the WWII unit in fifth grade US history.

This is a historical fiction middle grade. This book we follow a young girl named Millie, and this book take places during WWII. This book gives us a kids view of the USA during WWII. I found most of this book very neat, but some of the book was boring or just weird. I also do not think my daughter would want to read this book. Overall, I found this book just ok. I did find the characters fun to follow. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Knopf Books for Young Readers) or author (Karen Cushman) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

The story of Millie was one that I will remember for quite awhile. I love historical fiction and especially middle grade historical fiction that teaches about little known struggles of Americans during war times in the past and how the youth of the time dealt with all of it. The uncertainty of war and how it affects a family’s daily life is written very well in Cushman’s novel. Cushman still has the gift of drawing you into her story and making you feel like you are part of it and makes you care about the characters. I loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. And honestly, I chose this book just because I loved the cover so much. I am happy to say that I actually liked the book as well :) This was a story about Millie and life in California during WW2. Ever since her grandmother died, Millie has been obsessed with death and with dead things. So much so that she keeps a little notebook full of the "death" she found on each day...She also has a very sick sister who she happens to be jealous of because she gets all of the attention...Add to that her disgust for a certain boy, a new friend, and a smelly aunt Edna and you have the makings of a very interesting little book full of growth...which I happen to love.

This was a good Middle Grade novel about a very sad time in history, that ends with a bit of hope. Overall, I would recommend trying it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher

I requested this for my 12 year old daughter Grace. Here is her feedback: I liked this book very much, I would give it 9 out of 10 stars. I enjoyed the fact it was narrated by a girl who is the same age as me (12 y.o. when the book begins). Even though the book is set in WWII timeframe, I still related to it because of the strong personality of the narrator Millie. I felt like the characters in the book, particularly Rosie and Millie's younger siblings, were very well-developed. Some of the scenes Millie's younger siblings Pete and Lily were in made me laugh out loud, especially their reactions to stuff. The setting was very descriptive, and I really loved the ending, especially how Millie grew emotionally and conquered her anxiety.

It's 1941 and life has been difficult for Millie McGonigle''s family lately. First, there was the Depression. Her dad lost his job, and still hasn't found one. Younger sister Lily is sickly with lung problems and takes up all her mother's attention, while younger brother Pete, 5, wants all of Millie's attention. Then the war started in Eurpoe and Millie began worrying that the Nazis might just come over to San Diego and drop their bombs. To make matters worse, on Millie's twelfth birthday her beloved Gram Tillie suddenly passed away, but not before she gave Millie a blank notebook and told her "Things that seem lost or dead - keep them alive and safe in your book. Whatever is lost stays alive if we remember it." And so Millie turned her notebook into The Book of Dead Things, Mission Beach, San Diego, Californiz, 1941. Now, Millie combs the beach looking for all kinds of dead things to draw in her book.
And then the news that Gram's cousin Edna would be coming to live with the McGonigle's and Millie would have to share her bed with her. Edna is a little off center, seemingly unaware of what's going on around her and that there is a war happening. One good thing that happens is the her nemesis Dicky (Icky) Fribble's aunt and cousin Rosie move in with his family. Rosie is older than Millie, but the two girls hit it off immediately.

Then Pearl Harbor is attacked and everything changes again. Her dad gets a job as a clerk in the Navy Exchange, unable to join the army because of a heart murmur, and her mom begins welding school. Now, there are air raid drills in school, heavy black curtains on the windows at night, and rationing. Soon, kids are playing war games and collecting metal, fat and newspapers for the war effort. And, of course, Japanese hatred soon rears its ugly head in none other than Icky Fribble and his mother. Through it all, Millie continues to add drawings of dead things to her notebook.

War and Millie McGonigle is such an interesting story. It takes place between Saturday, September 20, 1941 and Sunday, February 28, 1942, mimicking Millie's diary entries, so most accountings are on Saturday and Sunday, with only a few on weekdays.

Millie is a sensitive character, who wallows in grievances, afraid to let go and enjoy life, because what if... But, over the course of the novel, she begins to change and watching that happen at the pivotal age between childhood and being a teen is what makes her so interesting. Add a war to that time, and you have a lively, endearing character. And while Millie's obsession with her The Book of Dead Things sounds rather morbid at first, it becomes an exploration of what to value in life for her.

Readers will find plenty of daily home front details in this character driven novel. But my favorite aspect of the book is that it is set at the beach at a time when it was not such an attraction for tourists. In that respect, it will remind readers of Jennifer L. Holms' books Turtle in Paradise and Full of Beans, even though they take place in Key West, Florida. They all share the same salty air, smelly seaweed, cawing seagulls atmosphere that is so beachy. Cushman has really nailed the setting aspect of the novel.

Hand this to readers interested in historical fiction, WWII, tween girls, and anyone looking for a good home front story.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an eBook gratefully received from NetGalley

This review was posted under my online name Alex Baugh

It's 1941 and life has been difficult for Millie McGonigle''s family lately. First, there was the Depression. Her dad lost his job, and still hasn't found one. Younger sister Lily is sickly with lung problems and takes up all her mother's attention, while younger brother Pete, 5, wants all of Millie's attention. Then the war started in Eurpoe and Millie began worrying that the Nazis might just come over to San Diego and drop their bombs. To make matters worse, on Millie's twelfth birthday her beloved Gram Tillie suddenly passed away, but not before she gave Millie a blank notebook and told her "Things that seem lost or dead - keep them alive and safe in your book. Whatever is lost stays alive if we remember it." And so Millie turned her notebook into The Book of Dead Things, Mission Beach, San Diego, Californiz, 1941. Now, Millie combs the beach looking for all kinds of dead things to draw in her book.
And then the news that Gram's cousin Edna would be coming to live with the McGonigle's and Millie would have to share her bed with her. Edna is a little off center, seemingly unaware of what's going on around her and that there is a war happening. One good thing that happens is the her nemesis Dicky (Icky) Fribble's aunt and cousin Rosie move in with his family. Rosie is older than Millie, but the two girls hit it off immediately.

Then Pearl Harbor is attacked and everything changes again. Her dad gets a job as a clerk in the Navy Exchange, unable to join the army because of a heart murmur, and her mom begins welding school. Now, there are air raid drills in school, heavy black curtains on the windows at night, and rationing. Soon, kids are playing war games and collecting metal, fat and newspapers for the war effort. And, of course, Japanese hatred soon rears its ugly head in none other than Icky Fribble and his mother. Through it all, Millie continues to add drawings of dead things to her notebook.

War and Millie McGonigle is such an interesting story. It takes place between Saturday, September 20, 1941 and Sunday, February 28, 1942, mimicking Millie's diary entries, so most accountings are on Saturday and Sunday, with only a few on weekdays.

Millie is a sensitive character, who wallows in grievances, afraid to let go and enjoy life, because what if... But, over the course of the novel, she begins to change and watching that happen at the pivotal age between childhood and being a teen is what makes her so interesting. Add a war to that time, and you have a lively, endearing character. And while Millie's obsession with her The Book of Dead Things sounds rather morbid at first, it becomes an exploration of what to value in life for her.

Readers will find plenty of daily home front details in this character driven novel. But my favorite aspect of the book is that it is set at the beach at a time when it was not such an attraction for tourists. In that respect, it will remind readers of Jennifer L. Holms' books Turtle in Paradise and Full of Beans, even though they take place in Key West, Florida. They all share the same salty air, smelly seaweed, cawing seagulls atmosphere that is so beachy. Cushman has really nailed the setting aspect of the novel.

Hand this to readers interested in historical fiction, WWII, tween girls, and anyone looking for a good home front story.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an eBook gratefully received from NetGalley

I received an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

Millie is a pre-teen living in a tumultuous time, the dawn of WWII. This historical fiction follows Millie as she deals with the loss of her amazing grandmother, deals with a very sick sister, her annoying neighbor, and makes a new friend that teaches her so many lessons. She keeps a book of dead things and is a bit obsessed. She is worried that the war is coming to the US and when it does, she really gets scared for her family, community members, and her Papa. This is a must read! Also, I listened to the Libro.fm version and it was wonderful also! #BookPosse

As she has done so well before, Karen Cushman returns to history to set her novel, War and Millie McGonigle, in the place where her husband grew up. A young girl in San Diego during World War II turns out to deal with issues that will be remarkably timely. Chapter headings are dates with “September 20, 1941: Saturday” as the first. A reader with only a little knowledge of history can anticipate what will be coming. Karen looks at how a family and community and especially Millie live their everyday lives with the shadow of the war looming over them.

The book’s intriguing opening has Millie drawing an octopus in her Book of Dead Things. It joins six sand dollars, a faintly orange ghost shrimp, and a tiny sand crab. In her last day with her grandmother before her death, Gram had given Millie a diary for her birthday along with an admonition. Gram had seen Millie’s sadness over the radio, newspaper, and newsreel reports about the war with bombs, destruction, and dead soldiers. She tells Millie to write and draw in her book the things that seem lost and dead because what is lost stays alive if we remember it. Little did either of them know that was the last thing Gram would say to her.

A grieving Millie makes her way through a little sister’s illness that gets all the attention, taking in Gram’s stray cousin who has nowhere else to go, living in the Depression that makes a turn into war patriotism, losing the teacher she had anticipated to Uncle Sam’s draft, a new friend adjusting from living in the city, and a community caught up in its response to the war with its changes. Then there is the good-looking Rocky, but he doesn’t go into the dead book.

Millie continues her pictures of dead things, large and small, and signing “McGonigle” in the mud like artists and authors do, following her grandmother’s instructions until it occurs to her that her grandmother may have meant something entirely different. Karen Cushman fans and lovers of historical fiction will be well satisfied with this book.

Millie McGonigle is a 12-year old San Diego girl living in California at the start of WWII. She's had a rough few years. Her beloved grandmother has died. She has a sickly younger sister who eats up all of her mother's attention and affection, She's always having to take care of her younger siblings, and her father can't seem to find a job. Money is tight and Millie is sick of eating fish for dinner every night! Just when she finally makes a friend, the friend moves away. Oh, and the world is now at war! Parts of this book were funny and charming, but there was just too much going on in Millie's life. It lacked direction and it also made it difficult to really care for the characters.

Thank you to Random House Children's/Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
#WarandMillieMcGonigle #NetGalley

This is such a wonderful book. I feel like today's kids could really relate to a book about a kid growing up during stressful times. I think they could really gain something valuable from reading this book.

Millie McGonigle keeps a notebook filled with lists and drawings of dead things and superstitiously and compulsively writes her family’s last name in the sand, hoping that will somehow keep them safe from the coming war. Grief very nearly overcomes her, but slowly, new friend Rosie, neighbors both friendly and not so much, plus greater understanding of her family begin to work together to allow Millie to see the good in the life surrounding her. Readers may struggle to keep reading as the gloom continues, but Cushman interjects bits of hope and joy and by the end, that message sings out loud and clear. Target audience is likely grades 5-8 and those who enjoy historical fiction and books with a more serious theme.

I loved that this book was set during WWII but from the perspective of Millie who lives in California. We often read historical fiction novels set during the war and in a setting that relates to where the action is, but it was intriguing to hear how the war affected a young girl. Millie is quite paranoid about the war, obsesses with death, and loses her Gram. This story is quite emotional as we glean the war through Millie’s eyes.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-ARC of this middle grade novel.

World War II is undoubtedly one of, if not the most frequent settings of historical fiction. I have a love hate relationship with these books, as I have loved so many written at this time period, but find myself thinking I'm burned out on this time period each time I pick up a new novel set there. This was a refreshing take on the time, however, as Millie's experiencing the war not in Europe like so many other books, but here in the United States. Millie was a sympathetic main character dealing with grief and worry, albeit in a slightly unusual way. I enjoyed this book, and think many kids will enjoy it too.