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Summary
Summary
From NYT bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a stunning thriller about a girl who must escape to freedom after the Berlin Wall divides her family between east and west.With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.But one day, while on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Then, when she receives a mysterious drawing, Gerta puts two and two together and concludes that her father wants Gerta and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?
Author Notes
Jennifer A. Nielsen was born in Utah. Her first book, Elliot and the Goblin War, was published in 2010. She is the author of The Underworld Chronicles, The Ascendance Trilogy, and the Praetor War series. She also wrote the sixth book of the Infinity Ring series, Behind Enemy Lines.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-It's August 13, 1961. Young Gerta wakes up to see that the Berlin Wall has been built overnight, dividing not only her city but her family. Her father and brother Dominic went looking for work on the west side of the city and now they cannot return home. Gerta, her mother, and brother Fritz are trapped in East Berlin. Years pass and resentment of Russian oppression and her family's separation make the now 12-year-old more than ready to take a dangerous chance when her father's smuggled clues encourage her to dig a tunnel to freedom. Nielsen, best known for her fantasy novels, proves she is equally skilled at historical fiction in this solidly structured, balanced account of the origins of an infamous historical landmark. Gerta is a sassy, determined heroine with realistic fears and frustrations-like her longing for a banana. Distinct supporting characters each react differently to Russian rule and demonstrate the harrowing choices people made to survive, encouraging readers to consider what they would have done if fate and history had cast them into the story. The novel is also an intriguing history of the Berlin Wall itself, detailing how and why it was built and citizens' first reactions. Opening each chapter is an inspirational quote about freedom and bravery juxtaposed with barbed-wire illustrations; the book's final quote ominously warns "History repeats itself." VERDICT The novel's strong setting and tense climax will keep readers engrossed and holding their breath until the last page.-Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Eight-year-old Gerta awakens one morning to a fence cleaving her family in two-her father and one of her brothers were on a trip to West Berlin while the rest of the family became trapped in the East. Four years later, the Berlin Wall has become a harsh reality, but a secret message from her father, hidden in a silly dance, gives Gerta hope and a plan for escape: tunneling to freedom. Like Anne Frank before her, Gerta is small but mighty, a hardheaded heroine who dreams up big ideas and refuses to give up in the face of adversity and danger. Nielsen (Mark of the Thief) evokes the constant unease of life in a divided Berlin through Gerta's sober narration, as she struggles with death, lying to survive, and underground obstacles like burst pipes, but the family never loses sight of the power of humility and forgiveness. As the architect of her family's freedom, Gerta memorably demonstrates that survival is possible even in the bleakest of circumstances. Ages 8-12. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Excerpts
Excerpts
From A NIGHT DIVIDEDIt was still very early in the morning, and large bulldozers could be heard, already tearing down homes or hundred-year-old trees that were in the way of the fence. Along with most of the people in my neighborhood, I stood on the road, facing the guns that faced us. Mama held one of my hands and Fritz held the other. No one around me cried, and not even the strongest men fought back. Why didn't we? I looked around, waiting for someone to rush at the officers in a cry for freedom. Then others would join in and fight until we overpowered the guards and showed them we refused to be held in here like criminals. Or until enough of us were shot. The guards looked prepared to do that, if necessary. Probably everyone here already understood that, because like me, they only stood and watched. Maybe we were all too empty for tears, and too horrified for words. When I asked Fritz when Papa and Dominic would be able to come home, he only knelt beside me and shook his head. Quietly, he whispered, "Papa was a part of the resistance, Gerta, or they think he was. As long as that fence is up, they will never let him come home, and he won't send Dominic back to this place. But don't worry, I'm sure it can't last long." The people around me had already given a name to this day: Barbed Wire Sunday. The day that divided a city, and eventually a country. Worst of all, the day that divided my family. The sun warmed my back as it slowly rose in the east, and I shivered against it. This early morning light had not ended the long, dark night. No. For us, the dark night had only begun. Excerpted from A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.