Spent a while looking for this one. Read it in school. Good book. ( )

Wow, this book had me holding my breath! Gerta, her two brothers, and her parents live in East Berlin. Her father and brother go to West Berlin in search for a new home and job for the family. However, Gerta's world is turned upside down when the Berlin wall appears overnight, forever dividing her family into two. Four years go by, and Gerta sees her brother and father on the other side of the fence. After Fritz (Gerta's oldest brother) gets in trouble with the secret police and will be forced to join the military at the end of the month, Gerta and her older brother are determined dig a tunnel to West Berlin and reunite their family. In order to do this, they must avoid nosey neighbors, the secret policy, and hidden spies who want nothing more than to take down any "betrayers". I really liked this book! It was full of suspense, sadness, and perseverance. It is very interesting to see this historical event through the eyes of a 10-year-old till she is 14 years old. Gerta is a head strong girl who at times is fearless. She is battling between reuniting her family and almost dying for betraying her government at a very young age. At times, she feels hopeless and that makes her very relatable to the reader (even though she is in a different time period and much different circumstance). This book will have readers holding their breath and reading as fast as they can to see if Gerta and her family get reunited in West Berlin! I would recommend this books for upper elementary and middle school students. ( )

This is a book that will absolutely not be rushed, which I both liked and disliked. While there is something to be said for depicting the tediousness of life in East Berlin, to say nothing of digging a tunnel, I wish they had spent more time on relationships. For me, the best parts, the most interesting tensions, came from the interpersonal struggles of characters trying to decide how to live behind the wall. The tunnel digging, in and of itself, didn't create enough forward momentum until the last 50 pages or so. ( )

I read this book along with my grandaughter reading it. I found the most interesting aspect the details of life in East Berlin behind the Berlin Wall. I also appreciated the quote that began each chapter, although I disagreed with some of them. However, the situation in Berlin at this time was very similar to many incidents we are now experiencing in the United States. I also was not pleased that nothing was said regarding the plight of the Jews in the Holocaust. There were too many repetitive details concerning the digging of the escape tunnel. ( )

Oh man, this is such a great book! Very very exciting, full of danger and suspense and keeps you hooked till the last chapter. I think out of all Jennifer Nielsen's historical fiction, this is probubly my favorite, Lines of Courage coming up pretty close. I think anyone and everyone should read this! I love it so so much!!😍 ( )