#20--Soldier X by Don Wulffson

Have I ever told you that I love historical fiction?

Not only to I love the stories that are expected from history, but I love those unexpected gems that pop up every once in awhile (Code Name Verity and Between Shades of Gray, to name a few).

Soldier X has been in my book talk rotation for several years now, but I have never had the chance to read it--since it is usually off the shelf and I have yet to have a student come to me after reading this book and tell me they didn't like it.  So, I decided that I needed to read it this summer....and it just so happens that I had a copy of this book in my "books removed from the library, but I still want to read" pile (it was in ratty condition and unable to be repaired anymore, so I had taken it out of the collection), so I grabbed it for part of my vacation reading.

The book opens with an old man, Professor Erik Brandt, explaining that his student had often asked him about his prosthesis and other injuries...to which he replied that he received the injuries while fighting in World War II in the woods in Russia....but he never tells his students that he was fighting for the Germans.

Erik is 16 and a member of Hitler Youth when he is sent to the Eastern front in 1944.  Growing up in a bilingual household of German and Russian, the Germans plan to use his skills to help interrogate Russian prisoners.  (Erik's deceased father was German and his mother and maternal grandparents, who helped raise him, are Russian.)  During his first days of battle, most of his friends and platoon are decimated.  He is stuck in a trench, behind enemy lines, with a dead Russian soldier about his age.  In a split-second decision, Erik decides that his only chance at survival is to exchange clothing with the dead Russian and try to pass as a member of Russia's army.  Because of injuries sustained during the battle, Erik is taken to a Russian hospital, where he is thought to be a Russian soldier with amnesia and is given the name X.  At the hospital he falls in love with a young Russian nurse named Tamara.

Not only is X able to pass as a Russian soldier, he is able to make friends on this side of the war as well.

In some ways this book reminded me of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front due to its easy ability to wipe away the romance of war and to simply demonstrate the vast evil of it.  This book would be a great way to introduce students to a different viewpoint of the war, as well as be a great discussion starter for loyalty and the justness of war.

I will definitely be keeping this one in my book talk rotation and use it to try to spark my reluctant readers!

Happy Reading!!

#15--Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

The two months since my last post have flown by...I've been planning an August wedding (we got engaged on Easter, so we have a quick turn-around!) and have finally found time to read again with most of the planning taken care of at this point.  :)

After several people praised Bomb, I had to pick it up and give it a go.  It had several things going for it that made me want to read it (other than all the recommendations I received)....it is about history, it is about spies, and it is about advanced science that is accessible to my level of science--which means, it is accessible to a middle school science student. :)  (I find science fascinating, yet rather intimidating, so for nuclear fission to be made accessible to me is awesome!!)

The book opens in May of 1950 with two FBI agents arriving at Harry Gold's home in Philadelphia to search it for evidence of spying for the Soviets.  Gold finally admits to spying and says he needs to tell the whole story.  The story continues with how Harry (as well as others) got pulled into spying for the Soviets. 

In 1938 a German chemist named Otto Hahn discovered that he could cause uranium atoms to split, physicists around the world began to experiment with this new phenomenon.  Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Roosevelt in 1939, encouraging him to begin funding research on building a bomb with this new knowledge, as Hitler and the Germans were certainly working toward that same end.  Should Hitler attain this powerful weapon first, the war would be over and Germany would be the victors. 

Once the United States began their research in earnest, Robert Oppenheimer was named the director of the Manhattan Project (the name for the American's bomb project).  Oppenheimer began to recruit top scientists from across the country, many who were European Jews who had escaped Hitler's massacre.  Once the top secret research was started, not only were the Germans trying to get their hands on the information that the Americans had, but Stalin and the KGB were even more insistent on getting the information.  So much so that the KGB was actually able to find individuals working on the Manhattan Project who were supportive of Russia and Communism and willing to give highly classified information over to the Soviets.

When President Truman dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, Stalin was furious that the American's had beat him.  By August 29, 1949, the Russians had their first successful atomic bomb, which ignited the Cold War. 

While I knew some of the details about the Manhattan Project and the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  However, I did not know most of the details of the race between Germany, Russian and the United States to be the first to build an atomic weapon, and even less of the spying that went on to accomplish it.  I had heard of several of the big names: Robert Oppenheimer, the Rosenbergs, and Moe Berg, but beyond those names, everyone else was a new character to me who was fascinating to learn about.

This book is definitely going to go into my book talk rotation for nonfiction for next year!!

Happy Reading!!

#38--The Exeter Blitz by David Rees

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/exeter-cathedral **

As I tend to dedicate much of my reading to historical fiction, I try to read about events that I don't always know much about.  Today's book is an example.  I have always heard about the Blitz occurring in London during WWII, and that there were other places that were bombed as well.  However, I was not aware that the Blitz was carried out far to the eastern side of London.  After the British destroyed the German port of Lubeck (of which there was very little point other than to try out new weapons), known for very little except its beauty and antiquity, Hitler was furious and then ordered the destruction of similar British cities: Norwich, Canterbury, York, Bath, and Exeter. 

The Exeter Blitz follows one fictional family as they experience and then survive the night of May 3-4, 1942.  The story is told from each family member's point of view at different times, which gives it a different feel.  I enjoyed learning about a specific event that I was not previously familiar with and this was a quick (128 pages), easy read.  This will be added to my list of recommendations when my students are looking for a WWII novel that is not specifically about the front or the Holocaust, so that they can get a sense of what it might have been like to live through an air raid as intensive as the bombing that destroyed much of Exeter, but, miraculously, left much of its famous cathedral in tact.

Happy Reading!!

**"Exeter Cathedral ." Exeter Cathedral. Sacred Destinations, 30 July 2010. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/exeter-cathedral.

#33--Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

On one of the first teacher days back at school, my friend Kelly (also one of my LA teachers) came to me raving about the best book she read this summer....Between Shades of Gray (not that shades of gray!).  As it so happened, I had checked this title out over the summer and had not yet had a chance to read it.  So, on her recommendation, I pulled it out of the pile today and enjoyed some rays while reading.

On the night of June 14, 1941, 15-year-old Lina Vilkas, her mother Elena, and her younger brother Jonas are removed from their home in Lithuania by the Soviet secret police (NKVD) and deported to Siberia, for reasons Lina and Jonas don't know or understand.  As difficult as it is, she tries to mask her hatred for the Soviets.  The conditions are horrific, but Lina is determined to live, no matter what.  Lina must also hide the drawings she has made, depicting their ordeals and the people in the camps, both Lithuanians and the Soviet guards, as she could be executed if they are found.  Her art is how Lina hopes to communicate with others the truth of what happened to them in Siberia.  But will her hope keep them alive long enough?

There have been very few books written about this time period, so it is not a part of history that I was overly familiar with.  However, that makes me want to find out more about it, and more about the people who survived these horrors.  The author, Ruta Sepetys, is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee who was fortunate enough to escape through Germany and into refugee camps.  She wrote this story as a memorial to all those who perished, and for those who survived Stalin's Reign of Terror.  This is a story that I would definitely recommend to anyone who is a lover of history!

Happy Reading!!

#30--Radical Integrity: The Story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Michael Van Dyke

Ever year when I attend New Wilmington Mission Conference, I purchase several books at the book store....and I rarely read them before I go back the next year.  Until this year.  This year I purchased a few books, and I've already finished one of them....today's post.  As I have said before, I'm fascinated by the time period of World War II, and events leading up to it.  I've had a vague inkling of who Dietrich Bonhoeffer was for years, but never really gave him much thought until I picked up Radical Integrity.  I knew he was a German theologian who was killed by the Nazis and is widely quoted and studied at seminaries.  Beyond that, I didn't know much about him.

Radical Integrity begins with Dietrich's arrest by the Gestapo for his part in the plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler.  But then we learn about his early years and his family.  The book follows Dietrich through university, pastoring a German church in Spain, and through the rest of his life, including his struggle with joining the resistance against Hitler and the Nazis.  Bonhoeffer was just 39 when the Nazis hanged him for his part in the resistance.  Yet, his legacy lives on in his writings.

I found myself going back and re-reading passages, sometimes for better comprehension and other times because what was said was so compelling.  I even found myself making slight marks with a pencil in my copy of the book--something I rarely do. 

Van Dyke does an excellent job of intertwining passages from Bonhoeffer's own writings with the narrative.  I will definitely be keeping this on my shelf, and will hopefully refer back to it when I have struggles of faith of my own to deal with. 

Happy Reading!

#28--Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

It has been almost a month since my last post, but this title is definitely worth the wait!!

Code Name Verity is told in two parts, by two different characters.  The story opens in a prison in Nazi-occupied France where a British operative (she's Scottish, and you better not EVER call her English!) is being held.  The British operative is writing her story of how she came to be in France in exchange for more time alive.  The Nazis are expecting her to give up secret information about the Allies' plans to invade France, while she is weaving a narrative.  This operative goes by many names in the course of the book, some of which could give away part of the story, so I will just refer to her as Scottie (this is one of her nicknames in the book).

Scottie is from the upper, upper crust in Scotland, with royalty in her blood.  In the beginning of the war, she makes friends with a working-class girl, Maddie, and they soon become best friends, despite their differences.  Maddie is a pilot and a mechanic--on cars, motorcycles, airplanes, basically anything with an engine.  But she is working as a wireless operator since women haven't been called up to fly for the war effort yet.  Flying is what gives Maddie purpose.  Scottie is an invaluable asset because she speaks French and German, can think on her feet quickly, and likes to make up stories.  The two girls are first paired up to talk down a lost German pilot and get him safely to their English base.  Later, they are paired up in the drop that gets Scottie arrested.  (If I say much more here, I will give away some of the best parts of the plot, so I will stop.)

The two other minor supporting characters are the Gestapo officer, Hauptstrumfuhrer von Linden, and the female guard/interpreter, Anna Engel.  Neither of these characters are stock characters; both are rounded characters who have surprises in them that  you don't see coming. 

I was up until late last night/early this morning finishing this book, because I couldn't put it down.  I wanted to find out what happened at the end.  

There are lots of World War II and Holocaust books and books about men fighting and women at home, but this is the first book I've read about women being a part of the fighting and ferrying of planes, pilots and refugees and I hope to see more!

I was provided with a free galley copy of this title by NetGalley.  All statements are mine.  This book is now available for purchase, but in print and as an ebook.

I hope you find this one as enjoyable and not-put-downable as I did! 

Happy Reading!!

#20--Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps by Andrea Warren

So, as I was getting book talks ready after school today for a teacher I started flipping through this particular choice, mainly to see if it would work for the assignment the students will be doing, and I got sucked into it. 

Jack Mandelbaum was only 15 when he was deported to a concentration camp during Nazi Germany and he was shipped to a number of camps before finally being liberated on May 7, 1945.  At the first camp the man in the bunk next to him, Aaron, tells him to treat it like a game that he wants to win, that if he plays everything right, he might beat the Nazis.  Jack is determined to survive and meet back up with his parents, brother, and sister, who he is certain are still alive and waiting for him.  Jack eventually arrives in the United States and becomes an American citizen, marries, and has a family.  He does find a few family members, but his parents and siblings all perished at the hands of the Nazis. 

This would make a good introduction to the Holocaust for someone who wasn't very knowledgeable, or for a late elementary student.  It was a quick and easy read.  And it should do just fine for the project, so my students will be hearing about this one on Wednesday.  :)

Happy Reading!

#7--The Himmler Brothers: A German Family History--Katrin Himmler

Last year while on spring break, I got the chance to visit my cousin in Portland, OR, and he took me to a librarian's nirvana....Powell's Books.  Now, I have to admit, I find bookstores overwhelming.  I think a lot of it has to do with their organization--they aren't set up the same way a library is, so I have no idea where to start.  To say Powell's was overwhelming is a gross understatement, but it was an awesome way to spend four hours!!  Unfortunately, my luggage and my wallet couldn't handle all the titles I found that interested me, so I had to limit myself to three, but I also came across many titles that I do want to read sometime in the future.  One of the titles I did purchase was today's post.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, World War II and the Holocaust fascinate me.  Today's book was no exception.

I can't imagine what it would have been like to grow up with the last name of Himmler in post-war Germany.  It couldn't have been easy.  The author, Katrin Himmler, is the great-niece of Heinrich Himmler, the head of Hitler's SS and the chief perpetrator of the Holocaust. 

I've been racking by brain all afternoon trying to come up with an American equivalent, but, with the exception of our best-known traitor, Bennedict Arnold, I couldn't come up with an equal, and Bennedict wasn't anywhere near to being on the same level as Himmler.

I found it interesting to learn about Himmler's family, growing up and what happened to them after the war.  It can't have been easy for the author to delve into the research of her own terrible family history, especially when family stories painted a much different picture of Heinrich and his two brothers, Gebhard and Ernst (the author's grandfather).  The book takes the reader from the birth of the oldest Himmler son, Gebhard, in 1898 through to how Katrin came to write the book and some brief information about her marriage to a Jewish Israeli.  She wrote the book for their son. 

This book was difficult to get through for three reasons.  1) The translation from the German sometimes didn't come out in the best English, which required that some sentences/passages be re-read for understanding.  2) There needed to be a cast of characters so that it is easier to keep track of everyone and their relationships to one another.  I found myself confused at times as to who was who.  3) A timeline of events would also have been helpful as each chapter covered a span of time and they often overlapped, depending on the subject of the chapter.  It was also frustrating when a day and month would be given and I'd have to back-track to the beginning of the paragraph to confirm what year was being referred to. 

Overall, it was an interesting, if difficult, read.  It is always good to view history through a lens that you didn't experience/learn about.  So, if you're a history buff, I would recommend it, but otherwise, not so sure.

Happy Reading!!

#5--A Conspiracy of Decency: The Rescue of the Danish Jews During World War II by Emmy E. Werner

When I was a senior in high school I had the opportunity to hear Thomas Keneally speak at Mount Union College when I was there for a visitation day.  For those of you unfamiliar with his name, Keneally is the author of Schindler's List.  Up until that point, I knew about the Holocaust, but I don't think I had given it too much thought outside of history class.  Mr. Keneally made events and people come alive during his presentation and made me want to learn more about the people and the time.  After that, I made a more concerted effort to learn about this period of our world's history.

As a freshman in college I had the privilege to travel to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., as part of an educational trip I took with several of my classmates.  We had a few hours to spend in the museum.  While it was emotionally draining, I found that I could have easily spent the entire week there, absorbing everything.  The following year I took a Holocaust literature class as one of my English electives.  I found this class fascinating while also taxing.  The more I read about this time period, the more interested I became.  Which brings me to today's book.  My mom picked it up for me at the local library's semi-annual book sale this fall because she knew it would interest me, and she was right. 

During 1943, Hitler had decided it was time to take care of the "Jewish problem" in Denmark.  A German named Georg F. Duckwitz learned of the plan and warned the Jews of the impending action.  Almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark was saved by their fellow Danes and the Swedes who gave them asylum.  When many of them returned to Denmark after the war, they found that their homes, belongings, and even pets, had been taken care of.  This book tells the story of many of the rescuers and those they helped, based on first-hand accounts. 

I had learned somewhere along the way that Denmark was an anomaly during World War II in this respect, but I had never gotten the full story, until now. 

If you are interested in this time period, or reading about heroic acts, this was a fascinating read.  There is also quite a bit of literature available, written by those who lived it, if you want to check out something new.  I'd suggest heading to your local library for more information.

Happy reading!