The Other Side of the Family

To escape the bombing of World War II, Kate, 15, has been sent from England to Sydney (``transported,'' she says, ``to the colonies like a convict!'') But soon Japanese submarines are sighted in the harbor, and Kate is sent away again, this time to stay with her dreaded Grandmother Tucker in the country. While Pople gives American readers a fresh view of the war, she is less effective in showing how Kate uncovers several important family secrets: Kate's Grandmother Tucker, it seems, is neither the hateful nor the wealthy woman her father has led her to believe. Kate has a distinctive voice and most of the secondary characters come quickly and intriguingly to life, but events in the story never really peak. Ages 10-14. (May)