Skylark and Wallcreeper

When Hurricane Sandy is flooding New York City, Lily is helping get her grandma Collette to safety. Along the way, her grandma shows Lily an old pen and says it must be kept safe. But the pen goes missing, and Lily embarks on a quest to find it. During her search, Lily begins to learn more about her grandma’s life in France around World War II.

The story oscillates between the present (2012) and 1944, and in 1944 an organization called Noah’s Ark existed. It was a group of people who worked to deliver secret packages, blow up German military bases, and hurt the enemy any way they could. All the members had animal code names; her grandma’s name was Wallcreeper, and her friend Marguerite’s name was Skylark. They were spies for the Allies. The pen was a sign to others from Noah’s Ark that Collette could be trusted.

Is Lily able to locate the pen that has such significant origins? After learning about her grandma’s struggles, will Lily see her in a different light?

I liked this story because it is a well-written, engaging story. I liked the flashbacks from 1944, as they allowed the reader to become immersed in that time period.