J. Kasper Kramer – författare

A powerful middle grade debut that weaves together folklore and history to tell the story of a girl finding her voice and the strength to use it during the final months of the Communist regime in Romania in 1989.Ileana has always collected stories. Some are about the past, before the leader of her country tore down her home to make room for his golden palace; back when families had enough food, and the hot water worked on more than just Saturday nights. Others are folktales like the one she was named for, which her father used to tell her at bedtime. But some stories can get you in trouble, like the dangerous one criticizing Romania’s Communist government that Uncle Andrei published—right before he went missing. Fearing for her safety, Ileana’s parents send her to live with the grandparents she’s never met, far from the prying eyes and ears of the secret police and their spies, who could be any of the neighbors. But danger is never far away. Now, to save her family and the village she’s come to love, Ileana will have to tell the most important story of her life.

The War That Saved My Life meets Coraline in this “deliciously creepy” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) middle grade historical novel following an anxious young girl learning to face her fears—and her ghosts—against the backdrop of the typhoid epidemic.Essie O’Neill is afraid of everything. She’s afraid of cats and electric lights. She’s afraid of the silver sick bell, a family heirloom that brings up frightening memories. Most of all, she’s afraid of the red door in her nightmares. But soon Essie discovers so much more to fear. Her mother has remarried, and they must move from their dilapidated tenement in the Bronx to North Brother Island, a dreary place in the East River. That’s where Essie’s new stepfather runs a quarantine hospital for the incurable sick, including the infamous Typhoid Mary. Essie knows the island is plagued with tragedy. Years ago, she watched in horror as the ship General Slocum caught fire and sank near its shores, plummeting one thousand women and children to their deaths. Now, something on the island is haunting Essie. And the red door from her dreams has become a reality, just down the hall from her bedroom in her terrifying new house. Convinced her stepfather is up to no good, Essie investigates. Yet to uncover the truth, she will have to face her own painful history—and what lies behind the red door.

From acclaimed author J. Kasper Kramer comes a middle grade novel that’s “part gritty historical fiction, part The War of the Worlds” (Kirkus Reviews) about a budding young scientist in 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, who fears her weather balloon experiment has been mistaken for a flying saucer!Nothing ever happens in Roswell, New Mexico. Dorothy should know. She’s lived her whole life on a rural ranch nearby, surrounded by the difficult memories from her family’s struggles to make ends meet during the Great Depression years ago. At least her older brother Dwight is home safe from the war. Unfortunately, he’s no better to talk to than her ancient pet sheep, Geraldine. Thankfully Dorothy has her experiments, like launching rockets off the top of her windmill. But one stormy night, she sends a gigantic weather balloon into the stratosphere—and an incredible blast lights up the sky. Suddenly, all the newspapers feature a flying saucer crash in their headlines and the sleepy town of Roswell is alight with gossip and speculation. But what if the so-called extraterrestrial vessel is actually Dorothy’s weather balloon? When FBI agents start asking questions, she begins to suspect there’s something out there, something dangerous. Either the government is after her for causing a national scandal…or aliens are real!

From acclaimed author J. Kasper Kramer comes a middle grade novel that’s “part gritty historical fiction, part The War of the Worlds” (Kirkus Reviews) about a budding young scientist in 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, who fears her weather balloon experiment has been mistaken for a flying saucer!Nothing ever happens in Roswell, New Mexico. Dorothy should know. She’s lived her whole life on a rural ranch nearby, surrounded by the difficult memories from her family’s struggles to make ends meet during the Great Depression years ago. At least her older brother Dwight is home safe from the war. Unfortunately, he’s no better to talk to than her ancient pet sheep, Geraldine. Thankfully Dorothy has her experiments, like launching rockets off the top of her windmill. But one stormy night, she sends a gigantic weather balloon into the stratosphere—and an incredible blast lights up the sky. Suddenly, all the newspapers feature a flying saucer crash in their headlines and the sleepy town of Roswell is alight with gossip and speculation. But what if the so-called extraterrestrial vessel is actually Dorothy’s weather balloon? When FBI agents start asking questions, she begins to suspect there’s something out there, something dangerous. Either the government is after her for causing a national scandal…or aliens are real!

A powerful middle grade debut that weaves together folklore and history to tell the story of a girl finding her voice and the strength to use it during the final months of the Communist regime in Romania in 1989.Ileana has always collected stories. Some are about the past, before the leader of her country tore down her home to make room for his golden palace; back when families had enough food, and the hot water worked on more than just Saturday nights. Others are folktales like the one she was named for, which her father used to tell her at bedtime. But some stories can get you in trouble, like the dangerous one criticizing Romania’s Communist government that Uncle Andrei published—right before he went missing. Fearing for her safety, Ileana’s parents send her to live with the grandparents she’s never met, far from the prying eyes and ears of the secret police and their spies, who could be any of the neighbors. But danger is never far away. Now, to save her family and the village she’s come to love, Ileana will have to tell the most important story of her life.