Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (mild war violence, Holocaust descriptions)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Parallel stories of several families (continuing on the next generation of children from "The Skylark's War") A pair of best friends 13yo Erik and Hans dream about working at the Berlin zoo some day. They have all sorts of schemes to get them in free - including offering tours and volunteering to sweep. However, Germany's involvement in WWII sends them on a different path, and by their late teens both are part of the German Luftwaffe. In England, Kate is a child who gets sick easily and often, so her family is very protective of her. Ruby lives miles away and was born with a birthmark on her face. Her brother is mean to her. But the girls share a godmother, which helps connect them as friends.
A story of children growing up (10 year timespan), the boys start at 12/13yo while the girls are 6yo. Because of the age difference, it isn't easily placed in Elementary or middle school. The girl's story is sweet, pen pals, family dynamics, while the boys are living in the aftermath of Kristallnacht, and the rise of the German Reich. The girls' story is solidly elementary relevant, while the older boys' story is middle level, bordering on high school relevance. This makes it hard for me to recommend for either level. There are also so.many.characters! Even with the included family tree, I was often lost about who was who, and with no connection between the English and German families and a lot of characters, I found the story hard to follow.
Lisa Librarian
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