Susan Marcus Bends the Rules

Susan Marcus Bends the Rules by Cutler, Jane. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780823430475.

You wouldnt even know there was a war on, thinks Susan Marcus as she surveys her new neighborhood in Clayton, Missouri. There are no air raid wardens, no blackout curtains. Its so different from her old home in New York City: no tall apartment buildings, no bustling city streets. Susan can barely understand people, their accents are so thick, and of course eveyone in Clayton is a St. Louis Cardinals fan and sworn enemy of Susans beloved New York Yankees. Worst of all, for the first time in her life, ten-year-old Susan encounters prejudice -- against New Yorkers, Jews, blacks, and the Japanese. She must be circumspect about her friendship with Loretta (the daughter of the black janitor), for Jim Crow laws still exist in 1943 Missouri. Outraged, Susan decides to strike a blow against them. Shes not going to break the rules exactly; shes just going to bend them.