Secret Places by Janice Elliott

I tend to like books about girls' schools, and this one is about one in England during World War II. The major character is Laura Meister, who is part-German. The elderly women running the school are not very happy about her attending, although their opinion varies from time to time.

A girl named Patience becomes Laura's friend. Laura's father ends up being arrested (much like the Japanese Americas were arrested without being charged with anything, given any trial, or allowed to defend themselves) and in the end works for the government on the U.S. nuclear bomb program.

Laura does get bullied at times, but at times she is almost accepted by the other girls. Near the end of the war, though, the bullying gets worse, especially on the part of the people running the place when they place her in a separate room and keep her away from all the other students.

Those are the main events. Much of the story is just the daily lives of the students, how the girls grow up and develop attractions to boys, etc. The description of how the war was going on and its effects on the girls is also interesting.


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