I like reading books that are re-imagined versions of Shakespeare’s plots, and that’s why I checked out The Romeo and Juliet Code. But it’s not that sort of book at all.

Instead, The Romeo and Juliet Code plays into another interest of mine: World War II and spies. Felicity Bathburn Budwig is a very, very British eleven year old girl who ends up in Maine at her estranged grandmother’s house by the sea. The year is 1941, and London, Felicity’s former home, is in the midst of The Blitz. When Felicity’s parents, Danny and Winnie, leave her to live with Danny’s American family–Uncle Gideon, Aunt Miami, and The Gram—Felicity is sure that Danny and Winnie will soon come back to get her and take her home, to England, where she belongs.

Felicity has a stuffed bear named Wink who reminded me of Paddington for some reason. And her American family is odd enough to people the pages of a fantasy novel rather than the straight historical fiction that this story purports to be. Then, there’s also someone named Captain Derek who may or may not live in a secret room upstairs. And there are secret letters, and a code, and an island and a lighthouse, and Aunt Miami who’s obsessed with Romeo and Juliet. All put together it’s the sort of story an imaginative girl could concoct in perilous times, and the point of view feels right. Strange, but right.

The problem would be finding the right readers, those who would enjoy a spy story that’s not very fast-paced or danger-filled, or a quirky family story that turns out to be quite realistic, or a historical fiction novel that has a lot of precious-ness mixed in with the history. If any of that admixture sounds like your cuppa, you might want to check out this Brit-comes-to-America-and-finds-a-home story of a girl nicknamed Flissy. Just know that Romeo and Juliet play a rather small part in the whole gallimaufry.