Walking to school could be hard if you lived in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was downright dangerous if you were a Catholic, like Allison, and the only route to your school was through a Protestant neighborhood.

The taunts and threats of the Protestant adults who lined the streets on the way to St. Claire's scared Allison, even though her mother was with her. But the angry behavior of some of the Catholic grownups—frightened her, too.

Once again, Eve Bunting has found a way to explore a complicated contemporary situation in easy-to-understand terms. And she shows that, sometimes, a ray of kindness can cut through the violence.

From the dust jacket