It’s April of 1917, and World War I has reached Elizabeth’s family on their wheat farm in North Dakota. Although the battles are being fought overseas, the war has affected her in ways she couldn’t have imagined. Elizabeth is thrust into a new role after her brother and father leave the farm to do their part in the war. And she’s only eleven years old!
Having almost died as a toddler, Elizabeth has been babied most of her life. Now she must learn to help out around the farm; cooking, cleaning, and tending to the garden and livestock. No longer can she run from her responsibilities, as she did when her horse Rosie was giving birth. There were complications during the delivery, and Elizabeth panicked and froze. The foal didn’t make it.
Elizabeth faces her biggest challenge yet as a huge Christmas Eve snowstorm rages outside, cutting her family off from any help; and her mother is about to have a baby! Her brother and sister are laid up with chicken pox. Does Elizabeth face her fears or run from them? Can she help her family, who need her more now than ever? Or will she retreat like she did when Rosie needed her?
2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Award Finalist for Children-Preteen
2018 KTC International Literary Award Blue Prize Top Finalist
“But Finn captures more than Elizabeth’s story. The novel also recalls the experiences of living with rationings, the introduction of light airplanes to the war machine, and the controversy over the suffragette movement. Libby is a delightful protagonist, alternating between wishing she could be of more help and resenting the intrusion upon her formerly rather carefree life.”–Kirkus Reviews
“Elizabeth’s War by D.L. Finn is a delightful book that deftly shows one girl’s path to growing up and fighting a war with herself in the process.” —Portland Book Review
“I loved reading about the sacrifices and volunteer work Americans at home made to help the soldiers; especially the knitting projects done by classes in school, and I laughed with the clumsy and domestically challenged young Elizabeth as she learns to cook and knit. Finn’s writing is smooth and her story flows beautifully.”– Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite
“Elizabeth must accept a new place not only in her own previously-comfortable surroundings, but in a wider changing world; and much as her family is fighting the war abroad, so she struggles with a less defined war right at home. Her realizations and growth power a compelling read highly recommended for girls in grades 4-6.”– D. Donovan, Senior eBook Reviewer, MBR
“A nicely written and engaging read that I would recommend for all young readers as well as adults!” — Gisela Dixon Readers’ Favorite
