Voices at Whisper Bend — Katherine Ayres

It's 1942. America has just entered World War II, and Charlotte Campbell's brother Jim has gone to fight. Twelve-year-old Charlotte wants to help the war effort too, so she and her classmates start a scrap metal drive. When all the metal is stolen, Charlotte is furious. Her determination to catch the thief leads her out on the rain-swollen river at night. There she discovers evidence she doesn't want to find -- and there she faces the fear that haunts her.