All the Little Hopes, a novel by Leah Weiss, is a coming-of-age story about two teenage girls who embark on solving the curious disappearance of three men. The novel takes place in North Carolina during the stressful World War II years.

Thirteen-year-old Lucy Brown is a precocious girl who, like her heroine Nancy Drew, loves to solve mysteries. Her father grows tobacco and raises bees for honey. Lucy’s is a close-knit, strongly Christian family.

Also thirteen, Allie Bert Tucker has a questionable past. After her mother dies in childbirth, Allie Bert’s father gives her a one-way bus ticket to stay with her aunt who is expecting a baby. After a long bus journey to the other side of the state, Allie Bert is not welcomed at her aunt’s, and is unceremoniously locked out of the house.

The two girls meet and form an immediate friendship, and Lucy’s parents welcome Allie Bert into their family. The two of them set out to solve some of the town’s most puzzling mysteries. Together, they help one another survive the awkward early-teen years.

All the Little Hopes is a remarkable story. World War II demanded sacrifice from everyone. Lucy’s older brother and brother-in-law are both fighting in Europe. Extra work is demanded of the family when the Army needs honey-bee wax to lubricate ammunition, tools, and cables. A Nazi prisoner-of-war camp is built nearby, which adds anxiety in the community.

I enjoyed watching these two girls develop. Teenage years are often riddled with confusion and feelings of inadequacy, and both Lucy and Allie Bert are no exception. The United States was very much affected by a war raging across the seas with combat both in Europe and the Pacific. The war demanded many sacrifices for the common good. Although the novel is fictional, it is peppered with historical facts, such as bees wax being used for the war effort. All the Little Hopes would be of interest to both teens and adults.