Gordy is vicious and violent — for no good reason, as far as she and Elizabeth are concerned. The girls are furious when he wrecks the tree house they worked so hard to construct. Further revelations follow, changing their perception of the boy and his family. Ultimately, these secrets will alter their understanding of the war itself.
First published in , this reprinted edition features an eye-catching new cover. The story itself is well paced, multi-layered, and poignant, raising issues about war and patriotism that young readers will find relevant today. Toggle navigation. Browse our magazines Submit your novel for review. All articles Browse by Tag Browse Guides.
Your rating has been recorded. Write a review Rate this item: 1 2 3 4 5. Preview this item Preview this item. Find a copy online Links to this item childrensbookguild. Allow this favorite library to be seen by others Keep this favorite library private. Save Cancel. Find a copy in the library Finding libraries that hold this item Margaret and Elizabeth support everything about the war: the troops, the reasons for going to war, even the food rations.
After all, this is the good war and the Americans are the good guys. But when the girls stumble upon a classmate's secret, their feelings about the war begin to change. Is it really a good war? Is there ever such a thing? Read more Reviews Editorial reviews. User-contributed reviews Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers.
Be the first. Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Tags Add tags for "Stepping on the cracks". Bullies -- Juvenile fiction. World War, -- United States -- Fiction.
Bullies -- Fiction. World War, -- United States -- Juvenile fiction. The main characters main problem is that Margaret donsn't know what can happen to her brother in the war. Shes afraid he could die or he can be alive. No one knows but Hitler. Also Margaret needs to face gordy the school bully, she can only face it on her own. A little by little he will understand why Margaret can be rude at times too.
Gordy is mean to Margaret because all the stuff that happens in his family he says its complicated. Gordy im actually very surprised because Gordy stopped his attitude and his bullying. Margaret is just trying to have a good childhood and have fun. But not until her brother comes back safe and sound form the war. She cant have fun without her older brother because they're to attached to each other.
I rate this book a 4 because i really liked it it was very interesting. I feel like it was a lesson always treat your siblings good because you dont know what might happen in the future.
I recommend this book to my siblings lol because they could learn something new like never treat your sister bad well literally dont treat anyone bad. Treat someone the way you want to be treated. Now that i told you a bit about this book, It would be better if you read the hole book!! Now that i read this book makes me not want too be mean to my siblings lol. View all 16 comments. Dec 01, Sara Andrews rated it it was amazing Shelves: historical-fiction. World War II is in full force.
While Elizabeth and Margret are at home in a small town, College Hill, their brothers are off at war. The underlying mood of the entire story is how people are trying to get by and interact in everyday life while their loved ones are oversea.
This book takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions. I would use this book either in a fifth or sixth grade classroom. This would be a book that I would prefer read aloud to my students. There are many different themes to explore and discuss: abuse, bullying, family secrets, history, patriotism, friendship, and WWII. I would still do a lot of activities centering around this book. For example: I would have students write a reflection journal.
Students could research this time period in our history and find out what it actually meant to ration food and what patriotism looked like on the home front. Discuss hard topics such as bullying and abuse and solutions. This is one of my favorite books and I would love to incorporate it into my classroom. Feb 22, Claudia rated it it was amazing Shelves: ya-books , historical-fiction , challengebooks. Hahn is writing here about a time she remembers Storybook Dolls, nasty brown oxford shoes I had a pair 10 years later -- hated them!!
A child's flawed understanding of war and its consequences. This is her most reflective book, and her most thoughtful. Often there are nasty kids, ghosts who cannot rest. Often there is redemption and growth and insights. Here, there's only kids trying to live their lives when the adults in their lives are so preoccupied by WWII. M Hahn is writing here about a time she remembers Margaret and Elizabeth are best friends and natural enemies of Gordy, the braggart, the bully Patriotism, the inability of the world to accept any objections to the war, the questions about secret facilities The girls think if they can step on enough cracks, they can break Hitler's back, and then Margaret's big brother Jimmy can come home.
The girls end up blundering into a huge secret and the consequences will certainly shatter many lives. Big questions are explored: what do we owe our country in wartime? What if we choose NOT to kill?
What is the nature of courage? How do we ultimately save each other? And can Elizabeth and Margaret really help Gordy? Will he let them? Jun 14, Marion rated it really liked it. I had to read this in fourth grade. It was me and a bunch of girls and all we did when we read it was giggle and cry, we all bonded.
It was so sad once the book was over because our little group was over. I remember it very fondly and would definitely recommend it. May 27, Julie Lobb rated it it was amazing. I love reading historical fiction books about World War II. This one is interesting because it is set in the United States during the war.
This book is different than Mary Downing Hahn's other books. No scary ghosts! But the characters are likeable, even the school bully who has a secret. May 11, Rants and Bants rated it it was ok Shelves: children-s-lit , 90s-books , childhood-books , it-was-supposed-to-be-good , abusive-friendships , love-hate , sad , realistic-fiction , sensitive-topics , historical-fiction.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Note: I rant and rave quite a bit in this review. BUT, the other two books are quite good actually. It was just this one in particular that was hardly bearable, probably because instead of it being in Gordy's perspective, it was in Margaret's, and thus we got to suffer more from Elizabeth, a truly obnoxious brat.
We also only saw Gordy from the outside rather than through his own eyes, and thus the sympathy that Stu deserved, which made Gordy far more likeable in the next two books.
So keep in m Note: I rant and rave quite a bit in this review. So keep in mind, while this book was just not done well due to how it was set up, the series overall is actually pretty good. I think the part that mesmerized me the most was when Margaret and Elizabeth were in the hut in the woods and started seeing it snow for the first time that winter.
The mood in the book was very striking too. How everyone in the town, from the neighborhood streets to the school, was sort of on edge regarding the war.
You could just feel the tension in the air. It does show in this book…the kids in this book are probably at this point old enough to be our grandparents or maybe even great-grandparents, but…they were just as spoiled and selfish as any kid today.
Sorry to break it to you, but has it really changed? Characters: -Margaret Baker- She was okay enough for a main character.
She was quiet and had a hard time standing up for herself. I really wish she had, though. And…I wanted her to shut both Elizabeth and Gordy up. That, along with her initial harsh and unwarranted reaction to Stuart, are the two big criticisms I have for her. When she did that, I was just like…what the actual hell am I reading? No, just no. How DO you handle it? It was just sick and disturbing.
Come on. How is that a friendship? People always talk about this sort of thing with relationships…but never friendships. I wonder why. And then the stuff she said to Stuart…you know what? Your parents are also to blame. Luckily the author knows this, which is more than I can say for others, but I still really needed someone to put him in his place and that never happened.
I honestly was expecting to give it 4 or maybe even 5 stars. This just proves that you NEED to reread books, especially books from when you were much younger, because your views may change. I mean, no one said it in those exact words…but you could tell that was the tone of the entire thing. Today , you say? What about kids back then?
So her brother had to die in order for him to be nice to her? Does that seem a little…fucked up??? And still, nothing is ever said about how he acted before. It really is. Seeing a softer side to someone who first started as really mean or rough around the edges is very rewarding. He stays more or less the same. He goes through little to no change. This is really important to acknowledge. But then she just turned into a raving self-righteous bitch hiding behind the popular disguise of a poor mother who just lost her son.
Just stop it. You are not the only one, and you certainly have no right to take it out on an innocent young man who was forced to go and sacrifice himself for a bunch of ungrateful shits like you.
Newsflash, Mrs. Got it? Why are you even making it about Jimmy? Well it must be so EASY for you to criticize when you get to sit in your cozy living room with your radio and magazines. I bet you just know everything there is to know about war when you will NEVER be forced to actually be a part of it.
Not that it would change my opinion regardless, but it just makes it so much harder for me to really care when the only people complaining are two sixth grade girls whose biggest worries in life are homework, and a housewife whose biggest chore is probably watering the plants and drying the dishes. That no matter what, the glory of war and being a war hero is more important than anything? And of course, Elizabeth being the dipshit that she is, blames Margaret when her stupid mother tells her parents and gets her grounded too.
Stupid bitch. While MRS. She wants to call someone a coward…well, she should talk. I think the comparison was quite fair. To get angry at your daughter for being devastated at losing her brother and wanting him back…just…wow.
I support them, big time. Jun 03, Peony Minassian rated it really liked it. The reason why I chose the book Stepping on the Cracks was because I never read historical fiction before, and reading a book that involved World War II seemed very fascinating.
The book is about a girl named Margaret, and her friend Elizabeth. Both of their brothers are batting the war because of Hitler, and while their overseas at war, Margaret and Elizabeth have their own war at home with the biggest bully, Gordy.
My favorite quote from the story would be "Together we walked the rest of the w The reason why I chose the book Stepping on the Cracks was because I never read historical fiction before, and reading a book that involved World War II seemed very fascinating.
My favorite quote from the story would be "Together we walked the rest of the way home". The reason why I chose this quote was because it showed how even though Margaret and Elizabeth both went through much trouble, they're friendship was never lost and that's what mattered the most.
I really liked the way the author wrote the book because she made a historical fiction book sound very interesting. The first sentence of the book sounded so intriguing and so did the rest of the book. One possible theme for this story would be that people should never judge others right away. For example, both of the friends judged Gordy as being this evil mean person.
But when they found out about his story, they both felt pity for him and always wanted to help out in some way. I would recommend this book to anyone who has had family members lost in a battle. This book will be very interesting and a great way to connect. Dec 14, Elly Berge rated it it was amazing. This book was a good new view on World War II. Connecting the families overseas and the fighting of wars in and around towns, even if it was the School Bully.
Mary Downing Hahn writing style creates a different view on society in this time. The view of two girls that are not really included in the war, but they are affected by it.
This book was a good mix of strong english and historical concepts. It was very intriguing and will get a readers emotions running. Oct 14, Brent Haremza rated it it was amazing. This books was amazing! I read this book back in 8th grade and loved it. I just recently got the chance to recall this book for a college class i'm in and tell them about it.
I just wish Mary Downing Hahn would write the sequel to this. Thank you so much for writing this book. Mar 21, Alexa rated it it was amazing. Apr 03, Roberta Surface rated it really liked it Shelves: historical-fiction , domestic-abuse-in-fiction , dysfunctional-family-in-juvenile-fi. Military, social, and domestic wars with different causes and all affecting the same small community. We learn about best friends Margaret and Elizabeth and the many things they have in common; both have brothers serving in WWII, both vehemently hate Hitler, both glorify the war, and both are victims of the class bully, Gordie Smith.
While the girls seem to be at war with Gordie, he is secretly battling his own type of war; dealing with an alcohol loving, child and wife abusing father. In addition, Gordie is also bearing the weight of keeping a secret from his family and the country at large. Readers will not only explore the emotional and financial toll WWII took on the country and how patriotism played an important role in dealing with the war, but they will also be exposed to how some people had an internal ethical struggle that was in itself a war.
There is so much worthy content to discuss when it comes to social and domestic issues and problems. I can see why this is a popular novel for classroom teachers. In addition to weaving complex storylines into an easy to read package, Hahn does a wonderful job of portraying the time period. I especially enjoyed her description of sitting in the evening and listening to the radio shows. I would recommend this to children grades who are interested in historical fiction. Although Hahn is well known for her ghost stories, this is not one of those.
View 1 comment. Margaret and her best friend Elizabeth both have brothers fighting in World War II and, like everyone else they want Hitler gone.
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