"And now some special messages," the radio announcer said. "The siren has bleached hair. Electricity dates from the twentieth century. The moon is full of elephants."Elephants on the moon doesn't make any sense to Eponine Lambaol, but little has since General Petain, the leader of the French government, allowed the German army to occupy half of France in the spring of 1940. She doesn't understand why she and her mother left Paris for this small, provincial town near the coast of Normandy, or why the natives seem to hate them even more than they hate the Germans. She wonders where her father is and what is he doing. She doesn't understand why some French support the Germans while others support the maquisards, the underground army sabotaging the occupation forces. Is anyone - even her own family - worthy of trust? And what about the charming, handsome son of the mayor? He's hard to resist, but is he on the wrong side? As rumors of an allied invasion swirl around her, Eponine begins to understand that nothing and no one is what it seems, and that the phrase 'The moon is full of elephants' makes more sense and is fraught with more danger than she could have ever believed possible.
About the Author: Jennifer Bohnhoff is a middle school social studies teacher. She loves travel and history, so it should come as no surprise that many of her books are middle grade and young adult historical novels set in beautiful or interesting places. She also has written a few humorous contemporary novels and a few adult novels. In addition to writing and teaching, she is a middle school cross country and track coach and the athletic director for the Albuquerque chapter of Team RWB, an organization that seeks to use exercise and social activities to help veterans reintegrate into civilian life. She also sings in the choir at Faith Lutheran Church. But what she loves most of all is helping people reach that "ah hah" moment when they suddenly understand the connections between themselves, the past, eternity, and the world around them. She tries to do this with music, movement, writing, teaching and simply living. Mrs. Bohnhoff is the mother of three handsome men, the mother-in-law of two beautiful daughters and the grandmother of one very smart granddaughter with another on the way. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her husband and a petulant stinker of a cat who cares nothing for her writing.