My Secret War By: Mary Pope Osbourne

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My Secret WarBy Mary Pope Osbourne
Report by Claire - 10 Due November 2,
2004 Language Arts The book, My
Secret War, is about living in World War II. It
teaches you about friendship and courage.It is a
great book.
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Summary
The story, My Secret War, takes place during
World War II. Madeline Beck is new at her school
in New York. She doesnt have any friends and she
isnt very pretty. Her father is away at war, and
she lives in a boarding house with her
mother. One day, Maddie tells Johnny Vecchio,
the best looking boy is class, that her father is
in the military. He thinks that this is swell.
They begin to spend time with each other because
they enjoy discussing the war together. They do
look-outs on the beach to make sure that there
arent any enemy ships coming. They find a tree
stump where they can leave notes for each other
if one of them cant go to the beach. They use a
code so no one else can read it. They also form a
club called, Kids Fight for Freedom and anyone
between the ages of six through thirteen can
join. One day, Maddie and her mother get a
telegram saying that their father has been
injured. They are both very nervous. Later on,
they learn that he is okay. In the end of the
story, they get another telegraph saying that
Maddies father is coming home. Unfortunately,
they will have to move to San Francisco, and will
have to leave their new friends. They are very
sad, yet happy to have the family re-united again.
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Characters

The story, My Secret War, has five main
characters. One of them is Maddie Beck. She is a
young girl who is living in New York boarding
house with her mother. Her father is away at war.
She is new in her class and is having a hard time
trying to fit in. Another main character is Mrs.
Beck. She is Maddie's mother. She is trying to
give her daughter a good life, and still keep a
good life of her own. She is a very loving, and
caring person. Johnnie Vecchio is also a main
character. He is in Maddies class. He is her
best friend, and her first boyfriend. Theo is
another main character. He lives in Maddies
boarding house. He knows a lot about the war. And
is a big help to Maddie and Johnnie in their war
investigations. The last main character is Clara.
She also lives in the boarding house. She dates
Theo and also helps Johnnie and Maddie in their
investigations.
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Setting
The setting of the story is in New York during
World War II. The main characters live in a
boarding house in New York. They live by a
harbor. The boarding house where the Becks live
was called the Mansion by the Sea, because they
lived by the ocean.
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About the Author
Mary Pope Osborne grew up in the military.
By the time she was fifteen, she had lived in
Austria, Florida, Oklahoma, and four different
army posts in Virginia. As a child, she enjoyed
acting, and working behind the scenes of plays.
Mary Pope Osborne went to the University of
South Carolina to study drama. She then
discovered the world of mythology and comparative
religion. She became a religion major. Some
of the books that she has written are, The Magic
Tree House books, and My Secret War.
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Book Review
The book, My Secret War, is an excellent book. It
takes place during World War II, which is a time
period that I am very interested in. The
characters are interesting and realistic. It is
not unbelievable or boring. There is never a dull
moment. The author did an excellent job with
facts and teaching the reader about World War II
and giving the reader facts, and in a way that
gets the reader interested. If I were to rate
this book out of five stars, I would give it four.