The House on Q Street

Joey is ten years old in 1942 when she and her family move to wartime Washington, D.C., where her father is an atomic physicist. The family is under strain, not only because of the war and the father's crucial work, but also because he has become involved in an affair. Joey must adjust to a new school and to the military boarders who live in the house. She becomes especially fond of Tony, a young naval officer who lives with them, and of the Wave whom he marries. Tony is Joey's first real lesson in the terrible realities of war. But the war is all around her and her sister, the songs and slogans, as well as the radio news and when she plays Iphengnia in school, she feels the contemporary meaning of the play. Her attempts to bring her father home are awkward, but by thirteen she has grown in tolerance and understanding.

Review Highlights

McLaughlin is masterful at working in wartime details of life at home: the girls discuss whether Spam or Treet tastes better; Joey forgets to color the oleo so it looks like real butter; one of the boarders applies "bottled stockings" because she doesn't have real nylons...

Amidst a whirlwind of history-in-the-making World War II (and perhaps our own time) a smaller picture of domestic life can effectively tell a great big story–which is exactly what McLaughlin has done with this wonderful, highly recommended novel.
–Leslie Pietrzyk, Signature, WNBA

Joey will steal your heart.
–Hugh Gregory Gallagher

Ordering Information

The House on Q Street is available at good bookstores everywhere. It can also be ordered through John Daniel & Co. by calling 800-662-8351 or by using their online form. Click here for information and to go to the form.