Make or Break Spring
HarperCollins Canada
In the spring of 1945, fifteen-year-old Evelyn McCallum finds herself competing with her best friend, Peter Tilley, and Stan Dawe, the golden boy of their school, for the scholarship that bears her father’s name. Though he’s been missing in action since 1942, Ev still clings to the hope that her father is still alive, even as her mother begins to move past her grief and the war ends in Europe. In her final year of high school, Ev’s life begins to alter in ways that will change her forever.
Awards
Ann Connor Brimer Award, Nova Scotia Library Association
Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador/NewTel Children's Literature Award
Short List Finalist
Governor General's Literary Awards, Children's Literature, Text
Mr. Christie Book Award
Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award
Red Maple Award, Ontario Library Association
Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People
Manitoba Young Readers Award
Why I Wrote This Book
Make or Break Spring is set in April and May of 1945, when the war ends in Europe. I hadn’t intended to write a sequel to Catch Me Once, Catch Me Twice but, as the book grew in popularity in Newfoundland, I started to get letters from readers, sometimes angry ones, asking what happened to Evelyn so I decided to take her story to the end of World War II. This is a book about finding a way when there are no easy answers.
Reviews for Make or Break Spring
“...McNaughton plots her course to the book's conclusion with apparent effortless ease. Just one of her strengths is characterization...”
— The Globe and Mail
"One difference between a well and a poorly written book is the quality of the life that goes on around the main action. McNaughton's creativity and skill make the whole fabric of the book delightful."
— Books in Canada