Taffy of Torpedo Junction

by Nell Wise Wechter, Bland Simpson (Foreword), Mary Walker Sparks (Illustrator)

Back in print A longtime favorite of several generations of Tar Heels, Taffy of Torpedo Junction is the thrilling adventure story of thirteen-year-old Taffy Willis, who, with the help of her pony and dog, exposes a ring of Nazi spies operating from a secluded house on Hatteras Island, North Carolina, during World War II. For readers of all ages, the book brings to life the dramatic wartime events on the Outer Banks, where German U-boats turned an area around Cape Hatteras into 'Torpedo Junction' by sinking more than sixty American vessels in just a six-month period in 1942. Taffy has been enjoyed by young and old alike since it was first published in 1957.

Genres: Historical Fiction, World War II, Young Adult, Mystery, Childrens

154 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1957

Reviews

[Joyce Copeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first encountered this book in the sixth grade. My teacher read aloud to us after lunch every day. I lived in northeastern North Carolina and only an hour from the Outset Banks. It still lingers as a favorite even now at age 70.

[Sonia With an I · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a darling book about a very serious subject. Taffy and Gramps are such wholesome characters. The story was very interesting and relatable for a story written in the 1950’s. The tales of war and the suspense were great. Also a dog and a horse 💖💖💖

[Betty Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because of my interest in WWII books. Written for preteens, I found the dialect of the grandfather overdone for young readers.

[MADDIE · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was interesting! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Maddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

TAFFY WILIS??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[Joyce]

Read it ever year. Special meaning for me.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, thrilling example of life on the North Carolina coast during World War Two.

[hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

i really didn’t like this book. mostly because it didn’t really have a plot line. i feel like it just want going anywhere and it was really hard to get through

[blmagm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plucky and likable thirteen-year old Taffy, with the help of her Banker pony Sailor and her boxer Brandy, foil a plot by Germans during World War II in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The author has created a suspense-filled, adventure story that speaks to the rugged independence and the bravery of local residents while defending their land. That being said, there are parts of the way it is written that are distracting such as the overuse of the word “reckon” (49 times by my count) and the over dependence on adverbs to tell rather than to show (“rapturously,” “dejectedly,” “unconcernedly,” “scornfully,” “stealthily,” “exultantly” to name just a few.) It’s difficult as a writer to know how to handle accents and dialect. To establish Gramp’s Elizabethan brogue was important, but I found it annoying after awhile. Middle grade students will get a flavor of the history of the time period and the geography of a maritime forest and beach. It serves as an example of historical fiction as a genre.

[Orion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taffy of Torpedo Junction is a children's book originally published in 1957 that tells of the time German U-boats preyed on the shipping routes off the North Carolina coast in 1942, sinking tankers, and other vessels bound for England. Taffy was based on the real life Carol White Dillon (1928- ), who is now the owner of the Outer Banks Motel in Buxton, NC, when she was a girl of 13. In 1942 the author Nell Wechter was a school teacher living in a boarding house run by Carol's mother.

At that time Hatteras Island was served by a ferry rather than a bridge and had no tourist industry. Mainlanders on the island were rare. In 1942 the Coast Guard and Nazi submarines brought the war to this tranquil setting with the sinking of more than 60 ships in a six month period. Taffy and her friends experience the war right off their shore as tankers explode in the night, bodies are washed ashore, and talk turns to saboteurs and spies.
Although this is a children's book, it can be of interest to adults interested in this unique part of the war. Dennis Rogers of Raleigh's News and Observer called this book "The best piece of children's literature ever produced in this state."

Readers can see a picture of the current day Carol telling of the war here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/blairpu...
And hear her talk about about it online:
http://monitor.noaa.gov/obxtrail/caro....

[Marybet Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical fiction set in North Carolina! World War II seems like it happened hundreds of miles away, but for coastal Carolina, the war was up close and personal. My father remembers traveling to the coast without headlights on the car at night, black-out curtains, and Nazi submarines being captured off of Morehead City, NC. There is a U-boat just off the coast which is a popular dive destination. This book brings those days to life with a 13-year-old heroine thwarting a Nazi attack on US soil.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend and is considered juvenile fiction. While it is fiction, there is a lot of history about the effects of WWII on the Outer Banks as seen through the eyes of a thirteen year old girl.
There is also the underlying theme of how much simpler things were back then. Wonderful portrayal of the eastern shores of NC.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this book last time we stayed at the Outerbanks Motel in Buxton, NC, at Cape Hatteras. Supposedly the protagonist of this young-adult novel, Taffy, was based on the woman who started our motel when she was a young girl on Hatteras Island. A pleasant read, about the Outer Banks before the arrivals of highways, and Nazi spies and submarines off the Cape during WWII.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read on how people on the Outer Banks survived WWII and the torpedoes of German UBoats. Pretty brief, and Taffy is the usual female up to no good nosy person who saves the day. I could do without the grandfather's speech written as he talked.

[Milley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I haven't written the review yet.

I liked this as it showed a different time and place which is huge for me. I enjoyed the mystery itself. I had more to say and have sadly forgotten. How pathetic I am!

4 (a keeper)

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good historical account, but I did not find the story line very interesting.

[Ellie wilkoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good. not good for 9years and down

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geared for children, but something every collector of boxer books should have.

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscent of old TV programs in the 1950s, I thoroughly enjoyed this historical telling of Taffy and her adventure during WWII.

[Laine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oi don't roightly know...... Lol