Nothing Else but Miracles by Kate Albus

Nothing Else but Miracles features a spunky and imaginative protagonist making the most of hardships on the WWII home front.

Nothing Else but Miracles by Kate Albus. Margaret Ferguson Books (Holiday House), 2023, 270 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10

Recommended for: ages 10-14

Dory Byrne (short for Doris, but don’t call her that!) blames her older brother Fisher for giving their dad permission to enlist. Pop was already called up once, but excused as he was his three children’s only guardian (their mother having died of tuberculosis before the War). When the second conscription notice arrives, Pop was wavering between duty to family and country but Fish, now seventeen, encouraged him to go. They’ve known their neighbors forever and their landlord will watch out for them. Fish brushes aside Dory’s prediction that the landlord would drop dead of a heart attack.

But what do you know: shortly after Pop leaves Mr. Bergen drops dead—of an accident, not a heart attack, but the effect is the same. And the new landlord is a stinker who smokes cigars in the bathroom and hates kids. What will happen when he discovers Pop is overseas and the Byrnes are under the care of a legal minor? Dory is a go-getter with an inventive streak a mile wide, and soon enough comes up with a solution both Fish and their little brother Pike can live with. And even enjoy. But there’s still a war going on and the Normandy Invasion ratchets their anxiety up several notches, especially when Pop’s regular letters stop coming.

Nothing Else but Miracles is a fun read with an indomitable protagonist and many laugh-out-loud passages. Details of life in the urban homefront (New York City) ring true, as Dory and her brothers navigate the normal joys and trials of growing up against a background of worldwide crisis. Church and prayer are mentioned, though the family doesn’t seem to go to church or be raised with any particular spiritual affiliation. Dory’s stand-in for God appears to be the Statue of Liberty, to whom she expresses her deepest wishes. But the Byrne family bond is strong, and the final pages with raise a cheer with any readers who have followed them on this journey.

Consideration:

• The novel is a fun family read-aloud, but note that Dory is a ready fabricator who lies to get out of a jam or promote the family welfare as she sees it.*

Overall Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 3.5
• Artistic/literary value: 4.25

Read more about our ratings here.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Resource: *Don’t miss our Newbery Buzz discussion of Nothing Else But Miracles.
• Review: Kate Albus is the author of A Place to Hang the Moon, which earned a star from us last year.
• Review: We gave high marks to another WWII homefront story just last week: Enemies in the Orchard.

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