Publisher's Synopsis
At fifteen, Leen De Graaf likes everything she shouldn't: smoking cigarettes, wearing red lipstick, driving illegally, and working in the fields. It seems the only thing she shares with her fellow Dutchmen is a fear of the German soldiers stationed nearby and a frantic wish for the war to end. When a soldier's dog runs in front of Leen's truck, her split-second reaction sets off a storm of events that pitches her family against the German forces when they are most desperate - and fierce. Leen tries to hold her family together, but despite her efforts, bit by bit everything falls apart, and just when Leen experiences a horrific loss, she must make a decision that could forever brand her a traitor, yet finally allows her to live as her heart desires. Inspired by the life of the author's mother, River in the Sea is a powerful and moving account of one girl reaching adulthood when everything she believes about family, friendship, and loyalty is questioned by war.
"Tina Boscha's prose is exemplary; her protagonist in River in the Sea is highly sympathetic; and her setting of Friesland, Netherlands, is alive with details. I fell in love with her tender gaze at the world she creates."
-Samrat Upadhyay, author of The Guru of Love
Praise for RIVER IN THE SEA "Based on her parents' accounts, author, Tina Boscha, writes tragically, sensitively and honestly about life on the harsh North Sea coast during the German occupation ... The book is well written and historically significant. ... Boscha has best-seller potential."
--Portland Book Review
