Galilee Beach vividly brings to life the summer of 1942 as experienced by mature- beyond-her-years 12-year-old Margaret Kennedy. Margaret’s summer in a New Jersey beach community entangles her in a deadly struggle between enemy agents and America’s own FBI. The book deftly combines genres, concurrently a coming –of-age novel, a young-adult World War II spy adventure thriller, and a splendidly realized historical drama that convincingly recreates the look, feel and even smells and tastes of wartime America of almost seventy years ago, when many thought that the United States and its allies might be defeated.,

This reviewer, born the same year as fictional Margaret, spent summer 1942 in a beach community like Galilee Beach. Ms. Chirico, who has a Ph.D. in history, skillfully recreates the ambiance of that time and place. With no false notes, the story seems autobiographical rather than fictional.,

The leisurely pace of early chapters of Ms. Chirico’s novel reflects how comparable books were written in 1942. Some young adult readers, accustomed to the short attention span demanded today, may turn from this book as it meticulously describes the setting and fleshes out characters. Such readers will miss a deliciously tension-producing build-up to a satisfying denouement. They will also miss the touching secondary theme, rescue from despair and self-rejection of a young lad whose parents rejected him because of his birth defects.