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THE ROMEO AND JULIET CODE by Phoebe Stone (Arthur A. Levine, January 2011) tells the story of Felicity, a young girl whose parents bring her from London to family in Maine for her safety. London is in th middle of WWII right now, and it is not safe for children. So, Flissy, as her Gram and Uncle Gideon and Aunt Miami call her, feels abandoned. But she intrigued by the mysterious Captain Derek, someone who turns out to be a boy her age who has survived polio. What is also puzzling are the letters that arrive for Gideon in Flissy's father's handwriting. Why is he writing Uncle Gideon and why are the letters in code? <9>
As she did in DEEP DOWN POPULAR, Stone provides readers an absorbing reading experience. Flissy, our narrator, is a complex character, one with a good sense of humor, a developing sense of justice, and a newly found sense of herself.