Molly's Fire by Janet Lee Carey is a story of the American home front during World War II. Molly's father has gone to England where he is a pilot, flying missions over Europe in the early days of the war. His plane is shot down, and Molly's family is told that there were no survivors. She refuses to believe this, clinging to the hope that her father will return and that he will send her a sign that he is alive and all right.

There is plenty of drama on the home front, even in Keenan Maine where Molly's family lives. Her friend Jane, falls under suspicion as do most all Japanese Americans, and Molly's own interest in the German prisoners of war who have been sent to a nearby work camp soon cast suspicions on Molly as well. Molly has seen one particular prisoner who has a pocket watch just like the one her father had. The fact that her father gave her the gold watch chain for safe keeping and that the German soldier's watch is attached to a string convince Molly that the watch is her father's and that he is still alive. She and her friend Peter try to get close enough to the German prisoner to buy the watch from him which, of course, gets the two into serious trouble.

The events do play out in a way that nicely serves up a happy ending for the reader, but they never become predictable in an unsatisfying way, nor do they become unbelievable and they easily could have. Ms. Lee draws her characters with depth and feeling, even the "bad guys" in the story are given enough heart to give them all depth. The reader does not take their side, but does come to understand their position. Molly's Fire is the kind of book that often sits on the library shelf a long time between readers and this is too bad. There's nothing flashy or eye-catching about it, but there is a compelling story about one girl's faith against all odds that is well worth reading. ( )