Christina Cann

God, how amazing is this book? And, want to hear something funny? I actually heard about it from another book! In Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson, the amazing Judy Blume had Rachel recommend that Alison read this book. I really identified with Rachel and thought, If she thinks that’s a good book, I should definitely read it. And so I did. Over and over and over again. Seriously, I must have read this book at least a hundred times growing up.

Here’s the synopsis from bn.com:

Minutes before the train pulled into the station in Jenkinsville, Arkansas, Patty Bergen knew something exciting was going to happen. But she never could have imagined that her summer would be so memorable. German prisoners of war have arrived to make their new home in the prison camp in Jenkinsville. To the rest of her town, these prisoners are only Nazis. But to Patty, a young Jewish girl with a turbulent home life, one boy in particular becomes an unlikely friend. Anton relates to Patty in ways that her mother and father never can. But when their forbidden relationship is discovered, will Patty risk her family and town for the understanding and love of one boy?

When I think about this book, I remember reading it in the summer, on the swing on our front porch, and in the winter, curled up under a blanket on the couch. I was never sure if I would have been as courageous as Patty, but I completely understood the love she felt for Anton. The power of the story and the emotions I felt reading it make it stand up, even after all these years. And I guess that’s really the mark of a great book—which this definitely is.