It’s 1942 and 12-year-old Evelyn McCallum and her ailing pregnant mother have left their comfortable home in Belbin’s Cove, Newfoundland, to live with Ev’s grandparents in their stately St. John’s home. Ev’s father is fighting overseas, and her mother is so wrapped up in her own troubles that she seems to have no room left for Ev. Grandmother is a steely society matron whose overriding concern is “What will people think?” Ev’s new school isn’t much better, until she meets Peter, a boy whose disability and working class roots set him apart from the other kids.
McNaughton blends wonderful historical detail with deft touches of fantasy into a story that will have readers guessing right until the end. The re-issue of Catch Me Once, Catch Me Twice will only confirm her stature as one of our best young adult novelists.
