Woodford Brave

Gr 5–7—Cory Woodford longs to be considered brave like his grandfather, a World War I hero, and his father, currently a solider fighting in Europe in 1943. He is convinced that his neighbor, Mr. Ziegler, is a Nazi spy, simply because he's German. Cory also wants to prove himself to Sawyer, the local hotshot baseball player. Cory's hoping to win back his best friend, Aidan, who has been spending more time with Sawyer lately. When Anne moves into the neighborhood and begins to challenge all of Sawyer's assumptions about girls, Cory struggles with how to react. As he draws cartoons to send to his father, which mimic the superhero comics he reads, he struggles with what it means to be brave. When it is revealed that Anne is really Anya and that her family is German, Cory is torn. He has begun to view her as a friend, but how can that be, when she's the enemy? Through a series of dares and life-changing news and revelations, Cory grows to learn what it means to be a hero, also coming to understand that people are not always as they appear. This is a strong coming-of-age story that contains important truths for today's readers. While the character development is a tad thin and the ending is a bit abrupt, this would nevertheless make a wonderful book for classroom reading or book group discussion.