THE TIN SNAIL, by Cameron McAllister

The story: Angelo's father designs cars for the wealthy elite, but Angelo has an earth-shaking idea: they need to build something that regular people can afford. As the designers hole up at a farm outside of Paris to work on the prototype, the rumbling of Nazi tanks is heard, on their way from Germany after invading Poland. Eventually, rather than letting the Nazis steal their ideas, they destroy all the cars...except for one. Will it fall into enemy hands and help the bad guys win the war?

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence G; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG (it's France and everyone drinks all the time; WW2 and everyone smokes); Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (war, industrial espionage) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: This was a fun story that will appeal to the group of boys who either (1) like stories about cars, whether old or new, or (2) like historical fiction. Angelo has a good voice, and his puzzlement over Camille is spot-on for a 14-year-old kid with his first crush. A fun read!