Countdown

"We are all about to die,"  states Franny Chapman in Deborah Wiles' book, Countdown  (Scholastic, 2010).  The story is set in the 1960's during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Franny suffers through the same conflicts as most pre-teens in our current time but Franny also must deal with the fact that everyone is afraid of what is going to happen with the missile build-up happening in Cuba, and the nuclear conflict with the U.S.S.R.  To help the younger readers, who have probably never heard of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Ms. Wiles has included real photographs and quotes used by real people from the time period, including Pres. Kennedy.  We read the story from Franny's point of view and her pre-teen attitude will make anyone laugh.  She must deal with her embarrassing family, trying to get a boy's attention, and the decaying friendship with her best friend.  This is the first book in a planned trilogy, and I can't wait for the next one!