Romeo Blue

By Phoebe Stone

Written for tweens, the story takes place on the coast of Maine during the early years of World War II. It's the sequel to The Romeo and Juliet Code, published in 2011. In the first book, 11-year-old Felicity Bathburn Budwig travels with her parents from England to the Maine coast in June, 1941 and is left with her father's family, the Bathburns, whom she has never met. Her parents leave in a hurry, leaving no clue as to their whereabouts. Though loving toward Felicity, whom they nickname Flissy, the Bathburns are an odd bunch with many secrets. Felicity is sad, scared and lonely but determined to find out about the mysterious goings-on in the house. In Romeo Blue, it is 1942, Flissy is 12 and the U.S. is in the throws of the war. Much has changed in the country and within the Bathburn family. Flissy dearly loves Derek, the Bathburns foster son. One day a man arrives claiming to be Derek's birth father. Flissy thinks there is something not quite right about this person yet Derek needs for his claim to be true. It's a charming coming of age story combined with a slice of life on the homefront as no family is untouched by the events of war. 

~ Linda