Synopses & Reviews
As World War I draws to a close in 1918, German citizens are starving and suffering under a repressive regime. Sixteen-year-old Moritz is torn. His father died in the war and his older brother still risks his life in the trenches, but his mother does not support the patriotic cause and attends subversive socialist meetings. While his mother participates in the revolution to sweep away the monarchy, Moritz falls in love with a Jewish girl who also is a socialist. When Moritzs brother returns home a bitter, maimed war veteran, ready to blame Germanys defeat on everything but the old order, Moritz must choose between his allegiance to his dangerously radicalized brother and those who usher in the new democracy.
Review
“Readers who are aware of the aftermath closing in on Moritz and his family will feel a chill looming over his romance with a Jewish neighbor and the illusory nature of the familys brief respite after the war.” --BCCB “A good choice for sharing across the curriculum, this is a novel readers will want to discuss.” --Booklist "In this nuanced and realistic work of historical fiction, Schröder (Saraswatis Way) immerses readers in her setting with meticulous details and dynamic characters that contribute to a palpable sense of tension. Moritzs intimate narration captures the conflicts, divided loyalties, and everyday horrors of the period." --Publishers Weekly " 'War gives meaning to some men's lives. For other men, the experience of war extinguishes all meaning in life,' says a man who becomes Moritz's mentor; Schröder makes this sad and ever-timely lesson all too clear."--Kirkus Reviews “The sorrow and the pity of World War I haunt every page of this unsparing coming-of-age story set in Berlin during the wars final days. Monika Schröder skillfully sketches in the fractured political background of a disintegrating imperial Germany. She doesnt miss a beat in her fast-paced first-person narrative as sixteen-year-old Moritz copes with his familys misfortunes, finds his calling, and discovers love. I found the innocence of the meetings between Moritz and Rebecca particularly affecting, and because she happens to be Jewish, the story ends on a note of foreboding. This is a memorable and instructive novel.”—Russell Freedman, Newbery-award winning author of The War to End All Wars: World War I
About the Author
Monika Schröder grew up in Germany and has worked as an elementary school teacher and librarian in American international schools in Egypt, Oman, Chile and India. She now lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with her husband and their dog, Frank. My Brother's Shadow is her third novel.