{"product_id":"crooked-heart-9780062364845","title":"Crooked Heart","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaper Moon\u003c\/em\u003e meets the Blitz in this original black comedy, set in World War II England, chronicling an unlikely alliance between a small time con artist and a young orphan evacuee.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Noel Bostock--aged ten, no family--is evacuated from London to escape the Nazi bombardment, he lands in a suburb northwest of the city with Vera Sedge--a thirty-six-year old widow drowning in debts and dependents. Always desperate for money, she's unscrupulous about how she gets it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNoel's mourning his godmother Mattie, a former suffragette. Wise beyond his years, raised with a disdain for authority and an eclectic attitude toward education, he has little in common with other children and even less with the impulsive Vee, who hurtles from one self-made crisis to the next. The war's provided unprecedented opportunities for making money, but what Vee needs--and what she's never had--is a cool head and the ability to make a plan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn her own, she's a disaster. With Noel, she's a team.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTogether, they cook up a scheme. Crisscrossing the bombed suburbs of London, Vee starts to make a profit and Noel begins to regain his interest in life. But there are plenty of other people making money out of the war--and some of them are dangerous. Noel may have been moved to safety, but he isn't actually safe at all. . . . \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEvans, Lissa:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eLissa Evans has written books for both adults and children, including \u003cem\u003eTheir Finest Hour and a Half\u003c\/em\u003e, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize. \u003cem\u003eCrooked Heart\u003c\/em\u003e was also longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Orange Prize); it is her first novel to be published in the US. Evans lives in London with her family.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50502997770514,"sku":"9780062364845","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_4be453e6-6301-4e69-a749-2f6946341ed6.jpg?v=1730780478","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/crooked-heart-9780062364845","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}