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Title: When the World Was Young

Author: Elizabeth Gaffney

Narrator: Caitlin Davies

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-05-14

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Wally Baker is no ordinary girl. Living in her grandparents' Brooklyn Heights brownstone, she doesn't like dresses, needlepoint, or manners. Her love of Wonder Woman comics and ants makes her feel like a misfit - especially in the shadow of her dazzling but unstable mother, Stella. Acclaimed author Elizabeth Gaffney's irresistible novel captures postwar Brooklyn through Wally's eyes, opening on V-J day, as she grows up with the rest of America. Reeling from her own unexpected wartime tragedy and navigating an increasingly fraught landscape, Wally is forced to confront painful truths about the world - its sorrows, its prejudices, its conflicts, its limitations. But Wally also finds hope and strength in the unlikeliest places. With an unforgettable cast of characters, Elizabeth Gaffney crafts an immersive, beautifully realized novel about the truths that divide and the love that keeps us together.

Critic Reviews:

"A smart coming-of-age tale that upends a raft of Greatest Generation clichés." (Kirkus

Members Reviews:

When The World Was Young

This story of a girl growing up in the Brooklyn Heights in WWII was an enjoyable read. Her family was definitely different than one usually encounters, especially in that time period. Not all the characters were developed as much as I would have liked but her mother and the lodger in their home were. The story has commentary about racial relations during and after the war because of the girl's relationship with the son of her grandmother's housekeeper. The family seemed to be open to accepting all races, but events at times showed that they were not totally tolerant. The adults were quite self-absorbed and not aware of the needs of this young girl as you grew to womanhood, except for the housekeeper who mothered the girl more than her mother or grandmother. There is an added plot to the story, but not quite a subplot, and that is the story of the interest of the two young people in ants. I wasn't totally in tune with this aspect of the book. Still not entirely sure of the meaning, though, I have some ideas.

Three and a half stars

At first I wasn't sure I could get into this book, but it picked up and became interesting. I enjoyed the main character, Wally. But I was bored silly by all the narrative about ants. I could've done without that. The end was a bit odd, descriptively, but it was good nonetheless.

Well worth the read

Great characters. A thoughtful and compelling story with an interesting cultural context. Loss, love, family and the need to choose from our heart no matter what the prejudices of the outside world are nicely explored.

Loved this story!

This is a fascinating tale of a young girl grappling with life and its problems during the second world war and its aftermath.

Great read

Great read