Other Bells for Us to Ring

Author: Robert Cormier

First line: Everybody in those days was singing “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” and “Mairzy Doats” to keep their spirits up because the war was still going on and our soldiers were fighting all over Europe and in places like Guadalcanal in the South Pacific, and here at home you needed ration stamps to buy meat and even shoes, and little children saved up money to buy U.S. War Bonds.

Why you should read this book: Darcy has never had a friend like Mary Kathleen, and in fact, she never had a friend at all before she had Mary Kathleen, so even though Darcy is Unitarian and Mary Kathleen is Catholic, the two find that there is adventure all over their small town. Their religious differences and the differences between Darcy’s small family and Mary Kathleen’s large one can be perplexing, but Darcy does her best to understand, until her father disappears in the war and Mary Kathleen disappears at home. Do miracles really happen, Darcy wonders, and, if so, does God care what religion you are?

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You know very well that God cares what religion you are, and if you don’t get it right, you’re damned.