Franny Chapman lives with her family just outside of Andrews Air Force Base. Her father is a pilot. Franny's life is in turmoil, personally and globally. She is feuding with her best friend, her older sister is being secretive about her college life and friends, and her uncle is losing his grip on reality as he relives an old war. Add to this turmoil, the Cuban nuclear missile crisis with Russia that has Franny, her neighbors and the whole country living fear. Franny doesn't know how to deal with what's going on but somehow she's got to find the strength to make it through. This book has been called "documentary novel" for its unique use of historical pictures, news clippings, advertisements for bomb shelters, and news broadcast from 1962 interspersed throughout the novel. Students will enjoy the story and learn that even in the most perilous of times, we will endure.