Gayle Rosengren

Cold War on Maplewood Street Gayle Rosengren

Joanna can't get over how her brother broke his promise to never leave like their dad did. Sam is thousands of miles away on a navy ship, and no matter how often he sends letters, Joanna refuses to write back. But then President Kennedy comes on TV with frightening news about Soviet missiles in Cuba - and that's where Sam's heading. Suddenly Joanna's worries about being home alone, building up the courage to talk to a cute boy, and not being allowed to go to the first boy-girl party in her grade don't seem so important. Maybe sometimes there are good reasons to break a promise. The tense timeline of the Cuban missile crisis unfolds alongside a powerful story about what it means to grow up in a world full of uncertainty.