Come to a Memory: Joab's Story/Lila's Story

by Frances Webb

Prejudice takes many forms. Set in New Jersey just before World War II, Come to a Memory: Joab's Story/Lila's Story is about two classmates who are both bullied in school for different reasons. Joab arrives in Lila's fourth grade class as the new kid, and is greeted with scorn because he's a half-Jewish refugee from Germany, and everyone knows that Germany is the enemy in the war. He talks funny and dresses differently, and has a black number burned into his arm. The teacher sits him next to Lila, another student who is belittled by the other students. She comes from a poor extended family, and her grandfather is considered the town fool. Can these two forge a friendship and survive against all the odds? The historical novel Come to a Memory reflects how memory can affect current relationships, and is set as a backdrop to life during wartime. It also depicts the slow development of friendship through patience and kindness in the face of childhood bullying. The story takes place in a small suburban northern New Jersey commuter town at the very beginning of World War II, just as the Great Depression is lifting for some, but not for others. Lila's family (extended and living in one large house divided in two) is poor and her grandfather rants to his son, Lila's father, about letting the bank foreclose on part of his property and on their livelihood. Early rumblings of war reverberate from newspaper headlines and the evening news with Lowell Thomas. Lila is a fourth grader and an outcast at school, since she is poor and lives in an odd house with her grandfather, the town tyrant and fool. The first day of her school year in 1939 is clouded with sadness for Lila because of the noise coming from her backyard. A bulldozer is razing her family's greenhouses, disturbing the peace of the neighborhood, and she is tormented by her classmates because of it. The child is self-conscious about her house, which she has divided into the "green" and "blue" sides. She and her nuclear family represent the green, and her aunts and grandparents are blue. This, along with being old-fashioned in dress, add to Lila's ostracism. I grew up in a town similar to the one described in the book, but with a very different experience in it. I did have an overbearing grandfather, but in general had a happy childhood. I now live in a Philadelphia suburb with my husband. My four daughters and their families live close by, and I am blessed with both grandchildren and great grandchildren. Growing up during World War II with the constant fear that we would be bombed the way Europe was being bombed, along with a family financial crisis instilled in me at an early age, expression in some way was necessary. My first book was Innocence and Gold Dust. Frances Webb grew up in a town similar to the one in her book and now lives in a Philadelphia suburb. This is her second book. Her first book was Innocence and Gold Dust. Publisher's website: http: //sbprabooks.com/FrancesWebb

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, War

412 pages, Hardcover

Published July 12, 2016

About the author

Raised in northern New Jersey (where a ninth grade English teacher called me a writer and assured me it was okay to "lie" and "exaggerate" when writing a dialogue or story), I left for two years to attend college in Tennessee. I returned to Philadelphia and the New York area, graduated from Columbia University, married, had four daughters and having always known my "destiny" began to fulfill it. After publishing a few short stories, I returned to Columbia, receiving an MFA from the School of the Arts. I also was granted a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts award, as well as other honors, and have now published numerous short stories, poetry and a novel.

Read the Press Release of Sept 16, 2016 for Come to a Memory here:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/09...

Visit my Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Author-Franc...

Reviews

[K.D. Dowdall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come to a Memory is an extraordinary read. It feels genuine and real. I felt like I was reading a true story from the viewpoint of a little nine-years-old girl named Lila. America was barely edging out of the depression era and nerves were being stretched thin by the inconceivable shock, fear, and confusion of another war, so soon after the Great War. This story takes place at the beginning of WWII in a small town and a family suffering financial loss like so many others during the Great Depression. What many people forget is that children were the ones that suffered in silence because that was the way children were told to behave, but not Lila.

Lila, intelligent, stubborn, and inquisitive, found ways to be heard, by throwing acorns at her cantankerous grandfather, as she hid in a tree, and by hiding a real chicken foot in her sleeve during her grandmother’s wake, terrifying ladies as Lila greeted them at her front door, not with her hand but with the chicken foot—claws and all.

Lila’s complex friendship with a Jewish boy from Germany, named Joab, who came to join her 4th grade class, grew slowly during the time before America was pulled into WWII after Pearl Harbor. Lila’s choice to befriend Joab, over the sneering remarks of children and adults alike, taught both lessons they would never forget. Through it all, it was Lila and Joab, both suffering for being different, who helped to mend the suspicions of a small town about a little boy who escaped Nazi Germany, though his family did not. I highly recommend this true-to-life story. This historical fiction, “Come to a Memory”, made me cry, made me smile, and made me laugh hysterically. A story that still lives in the hearts of many, still here, to remember the horror that was. I highly recommend this story – to one and all!

[Perfumegirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thanks to the goodreads giveaways for this book.

First off, this book may be great for others, but it was not for me. I struggled to finish it, but I did.
Its mainly a story told from a 4th grade girls perception of the world around her at the beginning of WWII, how she interprets things she hears and sees from the grownups around her at home and in school. Also, a 4th grade boy from Germany ~ they are both picked on.

I'm sorry, but I absolutely hated the book and I hate that I hated it, every review I saw was 5 stars so I kept reading thinking I was missing something or that there would be this awesome ending. I was very disappointed.

Don't base whether you read this or not on my review, as I think I am in the minority.

[Suzanne Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come to a Memory: Joab's Story/ Lila's Story by Frances Webb was the first book I read by this author.
It was an enjoyable read, and I liked that it was written from Lila's viewpoint.
It has strong historical references and points that show how it might of felt to be a girl in America at the time.
The family dynamics add great depth to story.
Recommend for anyone who grew up during the time.
3 out of 5 stars

[Katie B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The year is 1939 and Lila is a young girl living with her mother, father and extended family near New York City. Her family is facing financial difficulties and Lila is ostracized from her classmates at school. A Jewish boy from Germany joins her classroom and they are both picked on but for different reasons. This book follows the time period right before the US entered the war.

What I liked most about the book was it captured the uncertainty Americans faced with not knowing how the situation in Europe was going to play out. With the story being told from the perspective of a 4th grade girl, it also showed the reasons for the war being a difficult concept to grasp for a child. The author sprinkled some humor throughout the book with Lila behaving or thinking like a child would in certain situations.

My only real criticism of the book is that it didn't really flow very well. I would enjoy a few chapters and then I was bored for the next couple chapters. I think trimming the situations that seemed to repeat themselves would have helped the pace of the book.

I received a free copy of this book and that is my honest review.