Today, on Hook of a Book, I reviewed The Thing I’m Most Afraid Of, a new book by Kristin Levine. Kristin Levine also wrote The Lions of Little Rock, which I reviewed on Hook of a Book’s very first episode. Anyway, it’s 1993. When 12-year-old Becca’s dad takes a job in Austria, Becca is worried. She has anxiety, and she is scared of airplanes, riding a bike, soft-boiled eggs, Ferris wheels, crowds, sickness, bruises….you get the idea. When Becca comes to visit her father, she finds that he has a new girlfriend, Katarina, whose son, Felix, prefers books to people. And, what’s more, Becca’s father found Becca and Felix an au pair for the summer, which is basically a very young nanny. Becca feels that she’s too old for a nanny, but her au pair, Sara, turns out to be a refugee who fled the Bosnian War. Sara doesn’t have a work permit, and she could get in a whole bunch of trouble if she is caught as an au pair. And Sara’s family is missing. Becca really wants to help Sara, but to do that she just might have to face some of her biggest fears.

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