Mr. K's Sonata

Book Synopsis: Present Day Idaho. Summer break can’t come soon enough for Jodi. As the awkward new kid in her small-town Junior High School, she is the prime target of the class bully. Even the orchestra teacher won’t cut her any slack. While fleeing from her nemesis one afternoon, Jodi winds up in an unknown neighborhood, trapped in a sudden thunderstorm. A frail old man whisks her into the safety of his cozy home. The tattered violin case she carries sparks a conversation that leads to a unique friendship.1943 German-occupied Poland. Michał lives a privileged and sheltered life in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. On his fourteenth birthday, he accompanies his father to the factory that he runs. Michał sees and is immediately smitten with the daughter of his father’s Jewish assistant. When Michał later learns from an excited school chum that the Jewish ghetto is being evacuated and the occupants are being herded to the train station, he races to the depot. Taking advantage of a moment of chaos, and without a plan, he snatches the girl by the wrist and whisks her from the station. But not without a hasty promise to her father to keep her safe.To what lengths will Michał go to honor his promise? And how will the account of his harrowing and dangerous escape from the ruthless Nazis give Jodi the confidence she needs to navigate the unfriendly hallways of Junior High and plant the seeds for her future? Read more