Gordy Smith Books in Order

The Gordy Smith books trace one family through World War II and its aftermath, showing how violence, fear, and loyalty shape a boy who is never quite sure who he wants to be. The stories can stand alone, but read together they form a sweeping portrait of one small town and one complicated kid.

The sequence begins with Stepping on the Cracks, set in 1944 in the fictional Maryland community of College Hill. The main narrator is Margaret, a sheltered twelve-year-old whose brother has gone off to fight. She and her friend Elizabeth see the war in simple terms: American soldiers are heroes, and anyone who questions that is a coward. Gordy Smith, the class bully with a chaotic home life, seems easy to hate.

Following Gordy into the woods one day, the girls discover his older brother Stuart hiding there, having deserted from the army. At first they are outraged. As they learn more about Gordy’s abusive father and Stu’s deep pacifist beliefs, their neat ideas about bravery, patriotism, and enemy lines begin to crack. Helping Stu means defying neighbors, parents, and the rules they have always lived by.

At the center is Gordy Smith himself. He is angry, sharp-tongued, and often cruel, but readers also see hints of protectiveness and shame. His life is hemmed in by poverty and his father’s rages, and he has few models for kindness. That tension carries directly into the next book.

Following My Own Footsteps shifts to Gordy’s first-person voice. After his father is jailed for nearly killing Gordy’s brother, Gordy, his mother, and siblings flee to North Carolina to live with his strict grandmother. Gordy arrives spitting insults, skipping school, and expecting the worst. Slowly, Grandma’s firmness and affection, plus a friendship with William, a boy who uses crutches after polio, force him to see himself differently.

The final book, As Ever, Gordy, brings him back to College Hill after his grandmother’s sudden death. Sharing a cramped apartment with his older brother’s new family, Gordy falls in with his old buddies Doug and Toad, whose petty crimes and mean jokes used to feel like survival. He is also drawn to Elizabeth, the girl who once hated him and now seems to expect better. Trying to leave his bad reputation behind while everyone still expects the worst from him is the hardest work he has ever done.

Together, these novels follow Gordy from side character to full narrator, from scared kid to someone who can imagine a different future. Hahn anchors the books in vivid 1940s detail, but the questions they ask about violence, courage, and whether a child can break away from a damaged legacy feel very current.