That Smudge of Smoke, written by Edith M. Hemingway, spans the years from 1929 to 2015 in a middle grade novel about two 12-year-olds navigating crucial changes in their lives.  The vital link between the characters and the time periods is a diary, hidden in a door for the intervening eighty-six years—a door salvaged from an old Chesapeake Bay steamboat.  The diary, known as Dorie, takes on the unexpected role of narrator, a compelling character in itself.  Fans of Lauren Wolk (Beyond the Bright Sea) and Natalie Babbit (Tuck Everlasting) will enjoy this multi-generational story of hope, friendship, family, and of the far-reaching influence of history and music.