Nothing Else But Miracles

Description

From the author of A Place to Hang the Moon comes a hopeful World War II story about three scrappy siblings on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

When 12-year-old Dory Byrne’s pop left New York City’s Lower East Side to fight Hitler, he promised her and her brothers that they’d be safe. Like he always said, “the neighborhood will give you what you need.” 

There’s the lady from the bakery, who saves them leftover crullers. The kind landlord who checks in on them. And every Thursday night, the Byrnes enjoy a free bowl of seafood stew at Mr. Caputo’s restaurant. . . which is where Dory learns about the abandoned hand-pulled elevator that is the only way to get to Caputo’s upper floors. 

But when a new landlord threatens their home in the community that’s raised them and kept them safe, the secret elevator—and the abandoned hotel it leads to—provides just the solution they need.

Based on a very real place in old New York and steeped in the history of World War II, Nothing Else but Miracles is a warm and inviting story of resilience, the tight-knit community of the Lower East Side, and the miracles that await in unexpected places.

Kate Albus is the award-winning author of A Place to Hang the Moon, a JLG Gold Standard Selection, An Indie Pick, An ALSC Notable Children’s Book, A CCBC Choice book, and an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award Winner. Nothing Else But Miracles is rich with details from her grandparents’ stories of Coney Island and the Fulton Fish Market.

A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection★ “Historical fiction at its finest.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★  ”Rich in New York City period detail and era-specific colloquialisms, the briskly moving telling succeeds in its well-executed combination of classic plot elements, sympathetic characters and community, and anxiety-provoking uncertainties, while parenthetical asides to readers create a deepening sense of engagement and intimacy with the Byrne family.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Albus paints a picture of New York City life during the late stages of the WWII with engaging prose and a rich sense of setting . . . Readers will surely become vested in this story of family and community and ache for Pop’s safe return from war.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“The story is both grounded in reality and embellished with entertaining exploits, keeping readers excited about Dory’s experiences as she holds her family together and they await their papa. . . . An absorbing tale about urban life on the World War II homefront.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Albus creates a vividly realized setting. . . . An engaging historical novel with a rewarding conclusion.”—BooklistKate Albus is the award-winning author of A Place to Hang the Moon, a JLG Gold Standard Selection, Indie Pick, and recipient of three starred reviews. She grew up in New York and now lives with her family in rural Maryland, where an already-dangerous pile of reading material on her nightstand grows daily. Visit her at katealbus.com.US

Additional information