Kick Kennedy's Secret Diary — Susan Braudy

At the dawn of the Blitz, American Ambassador Joseph Kennedy rushes his family from England back home to Bronxville - but his beautiful rebellious daughter Kathleen ("Kick") has bigger plans. Ignoring air raids and family banishment Kick returns to her forbidden sweetheart in London. Everybody adored fun-loving Kick Kennedy except her cold mother Rose who loved being very-rich and very-Catholic and the Ambassador's wife. Kick Kennedy's Secret Diary is an intimate peek behind the spurious facade of America's royal family. This historical fiction diary is the whirlwind story of JFK's little sister and favorite person-- she's a bobby dazzler with an awesome trail of swooning British suitors.Ambitious and daring and the star of every party, Kick earns the nickname la petite questionneuse for asking many many questions, such as "Will God desert me if I marry a good Anglican?" Ever pushing boundaries Kick struggles to balance her strong faith and family loyalty with a marriage proposal from the Anglican and kind William Cavendish, heir to the most powerful duchy in England. As his wife, Kick would one day be second only to the Queen herself. Kick and her beloved Billy-o marry knowing she may alienate her family forever. But when her loyal husband of two weeks disappears on the battlefield, Kick struggles to make a life for herself alone in London where sexual awakening lurks. Praised by author Michael Wolff (Fire and Fury) for exhibiting the "literary charm of Penelope Lively" and the "romantic fervor of Barbara Cartland," Kick Kennedy's Secret Diary is damn good fun. Readers will love Kick's cheeky adventures with Winston Churchill, Aly Khan and the ribald Pamela Digby Churchill. Caught between her father's political ambitions and her mother's rejecting jealousy, Kick's defiance is a treat for lovers of historical fiction: her struggles to be her own person inspire.