Taffy of Torpedo Junction - Paperback

by Nell Wise Wechter (Author), Bland Simpson (Foreword by)

Back in print
A longtime favorite of several generations of Tar Heels, Taffy of Torpedo Junction is the thrilling adventure story of thirteen-year-old Taffy Willis, who, with the help of her pony and dog, exposes a ring of Nazi spies operating from a secluded house on Hatteras Island, North Carolina, during World War II. For readers of all ages, the book brings to life the dramatic wartime events on the Outer Banks, where German U-boats turned an area around Cape Hatteras into 'Torpedo Junction' by sinking more than sixty American vessels in just a six-month period in 1942. Taffy has been enjoyed by young and old alike since it was first published in 1957.

Back Jacket

Here is a thrilling adventure story about life on North Carolina's Outer Banks during World War II. Thirteen-year-old Taffy Wills is an independent and high-spirited girl who lives with her grandfather on Hatteras Island. With her Banks pony, Sailor, and her boxer puppy, Brandy, she roams the island and finds a mystery to solve. What's going on at the old house in Buxton Woods? Why are the people who live in it so unfriendly and secretive? And what is that eerie light just offshore? What Taffy discovers is a ring of Nazi spies, and it is up to her to help the Coast Guard capture them. Partly based on a true story, the book is a tribute to the courage of the people who lived near "Torpedo Junction", a real place just off Cape Hatteras where German U-boats sank more than sixty American ships in just six months in 1942.

Author Biography

The late Nell Wise Wechter, an Outer Banks native, was a widely admired author, storyteller, historian, and journalist. As a schoolteacher near Cape Hatteras during World War II, she could look out her classroom window to see ships being sunk by the Germans. Her story of Taffy was inspired by these real events and the courage of the people who lived through them. Her other books include Swamp Girl, Betsy Dowdy's Ride, and Teach's Light.