Friday, August 24, 2018

Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen - ADVISABLE

Orphan Monster Spyby Matt Killeen, 432 pgs. Viking Books for Young Readers, 2018. $19.

Language: PG (9 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: R (alcohol use by minors, inferred incest, and attempted rape of a minor); Violence: R (multiple depictions of violent confrontation)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS—OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL—HIGH  

Germany, 1939. Sarah is 15-years-old, Jewish, and on the run from the Nazis who have just executed her mother at a checkpoint. While fleeing for her life, Sarah comes into contact with a mysterious man who will provide her with the means to leave Germany, but asks for her to stay and help instead. He tasks her with the mission of infiltrating a private school for elite German girls to make contact with, and befriend, the daughter of a top Nazi official. In order to avenge her mother and create some type of future for herself, Sarah must risk everything to get close to the enemy and do her part to end the evil that has taken over her country.

World War II will always be a subject of interest and numerous books have been written on the subject. In this historical fiction outing, an exciting plot develops around a young Jewish girl fleeing for her life and the British spy she joins forces with. The book moves quickly and will engage the reader; however, there are parts that strain credibility and become a bit fantastical in order to move the plot on the course the author desires. The addition of a subplot involving pedophilia and rape of a child are disturbing and leave the reader questioning the need for this plot device and whether or not the conclusion could have been achieved in a different, less stomach churning, way. Overall, readers who enjoy WWII fiction and spy adventure will be pleased, but will do better with a forewarning to some of the more distasteful elements.

AEB

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