GUEST WRITER HELENA BRIGHAM-GALE RECOMMENDS WAR GAMES BY ALAN GRATZ
Bestselling middle-grade author Alan Gratz has created another highly engaging and historically detailed novel. Unlike Allies and Projekt 1065 set during the conflict of World War II, his latest novel War Games takes place in the lead up to the war. Set during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, protagonist Evie Harris witnesses the rise of Nazism and how it impacts the people around her.
13-year-old Evie can’t believe she made it onto the American gymnastics team and is determined to win a gold medal. As a refugee of the Dust Bowl, she dreams of bringing honour and financial stability back to her family. But whilst practicing for the qualifiers in Berlin, Evie is recruited for an even more challenging enterprise: joining a heist to rob the Nazi Reichsbank. As a young American girl, Evie hasn’t heard much about this new Nazi party in Germany. But as she undertakes high-stakes missions to prepare for the bank heist, Evie’s curiosity, empathy, and new acquaintances lead her to understand the dark truths behind the glitz of the Olympic Games.
Gratz carefully weaves character backstory and detailed historical events into a fast-paced heist narrative. The diverse cast of characters enables readers to see how the rise of Nazism affected different groups of people. As both a thrilling heist novel and a frank look at fascism, War Games strikes a timely, defiant, sometimes hopeful tone, and shows the power ordinary people can have when they refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice.
Helena Brigham-Gale is an EAL teacher and is currently studying at the University of New Brunswick. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and trying to find the best cafés in every city she visits.