A Night Divided

When the Berlin Wall goes up, Gerta’s family is divided.

Her father and one brother are in the west. Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz are in the east. Four years later, the Statsi has their eye on Gerta’s family, Fritz is due to be drafted, and then Gerta catches sight of her father on the other side of the wall, signaling something about digging.

If they’re ever going to be free, they must do something daring, and do it soon. Though written for young readers, the excellent pacing, realistic characters, and powerful themes about freedom and family make… show more.

Nielsen’s book, written for middle grade readers, takes place in the shadow of the iconic Berlin Wall during the Cold War, featuring a family divided. The novel highlights humanity’s universal quest for freedom as the protagonist and her family on the Soviet side try to escape to join their family on the free side. Nielsen plunges the reader into the action and doesn’t let up on the tension until the end.

Eight-year-old Gerta Lowe wakes up on August 13, 1961 to find that a wall of barbed wire has been erected during the night, cutting off East Berlin, where she lives with her mother and older brother Fritz, from West Berlin where her father has gone to look for work. Suspected of treason, he can’t return home. Four years – and dozens of deaths later – the wire has been replaced with concrete.  East Berliners, watched day and night by soldiers and the dreaded Stasi secret police, are prisoners in their own homes. Then, Gerta gets two cryptic messages and decides… show more.