Spying on Miss Müller

Book excerpt: Before World War II began, Jessie Drumm and her friends at Alveara boarding school in Belfast liked their German teacher, Miss Muller. But after Jessie sees the teacher climbing to the roof at night, she and the others wonder if Miss Muller is a secret agent, signaling the enemy. Hoping to prove her favorite teacher's innocence, Jessie agrees to help spy on her. The escalating war, Jessie's family problems, a first romance, and the revelation of Miss Muller's real purpose intertwine in this suspenseful, sensitively written novel. Eve Bunting combines her own youthful experiences with a keen sense of the intense, sometimes painful process of growing up during wartime.