Book cover of My Brother's Secret

Book description

Germany, 1941. 12-year-old Karl Friedmann is looking forward to joining
the Hitler Youth, like all boys his age. But when his father
is killed, his rebellious older brother Stefan shows him things
that leave his faith in the Fuhrer shaken.
What does it mean to be a good German? What…

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Why read it?

1 author picked My Brother's Secret as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

My daughter brought this home from the school’s discard rack (her exact words were something like, “I thought you’d like this because it had airplanes on the cover”) and we read it together for bedtime.

It was a twisty, fun middle-grade historical about a German boy who’s been very indoctrinated by the Hitler cult and the process by which he realises that Hitler is a terrible person, actually. The climax was very satisfying, too, and I am always here for a good boy-girl friendship story.

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