A tender, hopeful novel about grief and growing up set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War It’s 1965. The United States is fighting a war against Communism in Vietnam, LBJ is in the White House, and CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite is “the most trusted man in America.” But for twelve-year-old Sydney Carter, there are also Trixie Belden mysteries, her friend group “The Rat Finks,” her dog Por’Nada, The Beatles, and visits to her grandparents in Texas. She spends the rest of her free time writing letters to her father, an Army captain who has been deployed to Saigon. When her father’s letters cease, Sydney is convinced the U.S. Army has made a big mistake. But who can she turn to? This epistolary novel by debut author Tricia Hinely is poignant, tender, and full of hope.