SuitabookSeeing the individual behind an enemy label
Patty comes to see Anton as a lonely, frightened young man rather than only as a Nazi.
Loading your next page
Book details
Bette Greene - Author
Bette Greene - Author
This is a wartime coming-of-age story about a young girl who forms a significant connection with a German prisoner who has escaped. It brings personal empathy, divided loyalties and family pain into a dangerous historical setting.
When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp housing German prisoners during World War II, 12-year-old Patty Bergen learns what it means to open her heart. Although she's Jewish, she begins to see a prison escapee, Anton, not as a Nazi--but as a lonely, frightened young man with feelings not unlike her own, who understands and appreciates her in a way her parents never will. And Patty is willing to risk losing family, friends--even her freedom--for what has quickly become the most important part of her life.
Book Brief
Sign in to see how this book fits your child and family preferences.
Sign in for personalised guidanceThis is a wartime coming-of-age story about a young girl who forms a significant connection with a German prisoner who has escaped. It brings personal empathy, divided loyalties and family pain into a dangerous historical setting.
Patty comes to see Anton as a lonely, frightened young man rather than only as a Nazi.
Anton understands and appreciates Patty in a way her parents do not, making the relationship especially important to her.
Patty is willing to risk losing family, friends and her freedom because the relationship has become central to her life.
Pay attention to how the story handles Patty’s Jewish identity, the prisoners’ wartime situation, her parents’ failure to understand her, and the risks attached to helping or caring about Anton.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the current material supports only a cautious reading; another book-specific source is still needed.
Book information
Limited information
Anything not established here remains open; it is not being treated as absent or safe.