Tracy PopolizioA Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Imagine going to bed one night, waiting for your father and brother to return from a trip across the city (really, only a few blocks away), and waking the next morning to find a barbed wire dividing the city into two parts. Oh, and if anyone tries to cross to the other side, they would be killed on the spot.
Sounds scary, but that’s exactly what happened to young Gerta. While the story is fictional, it’s an excellent depiction of the night the Berlin Wall was created. Life was expected to resume as normal in East Berlin, with her and her brother attending school, and their mother, her job. But one day Gerta spots her father high on a platform on the western side doing a silly dance. Only after she remembered it was from a book they read when she was younger did she realize he must be trying to relay a message to her. As Gerta pondered this message, an idea struck her after receiving an odd letter from him. She believed her father wanted her to dig underground, beneath the wall, to the western side so the rest of her family could escape.
Alone, Gerta prepares for the biggest adventure of her life. When her older brother, Fritz, agrees to join her, the two work hard to dodge nosy neighbors and race against the clock before Fritz is called to the military, when it would be too late.
“A Night Divided” gives an accurate portrayal of life for a young girl in East Berlin. Watching the barbed wire fence become a fifteen-foot high concrete wall, complete with armed guards eyeing your every move, became a not-so-normal “normal” for many people. One wrong word, one wrong move, one wrong look and you target yourself and your family for the rest of your life.
Amazon recommends this book for grade level 3-7. I will tell you there are some scary parts when Gerta is held at gunpoint by an officer and a few conversations center around a boy who tried to escape and what happened to him. There is somewhat of a scary undertone, while Gerta and Fritz must hide from everyone as they work or accept the consequences of a painful death, but overall Jennifer A. Nielsen keeps the reader engaged and hopeful as freedom becomes a real possibility. This was one book I could not put down!
Kristen Gwen
Elise Haroldson
Julia N. White
This sounds so good. I’ve read her book, Words on Fire, which is also excellent. Thanks!!
This sounds like a really good book. Thanks for telling us about it.
I love this book. It’s great for all ages.
I’ve read Nielsen’s book Resistance. It too was gripping. I appreciate how through fiction, she is unfolding the horrors of the Nazi regime. Great author. I’ll be reading this book!