Pat D. (pat0814) reviewed on 5/24/2013 + 379 more book reviews

Caroline Leavitt has crafted a very haunting book set in 1956 with a zeitgeist that embraced a fear of anything or anyone who differed from the accepted norm. This included a terror of communism, preparation for a nuclear attack and a disdain for divorced women. All of these figure prominently in Is This Tomorrow.

Ava Lark rents the poorest home in a suburban Boston neighborhood with her 12-year old son, Lewis. The neighbors are immediately wary of Ava with the single exception of widowed Dot Rearson and her children, Jimmy and Rose. Lewis, Jimmy and Rose form an immediate close bond, calling themselves the three musketeers. This friendship provides a solace that is strengthened by their exclusion at school. Jimmy's pre-adolescent crush on the attractive Ava does little to endear her to the neighborhood gossips. When Jimmy disappears one spring evening, a chain of events is set in motion that affects many people for many years. Once again Algonquin and Leavitt have give their readers a book that is a riveting page turner.

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