Behind the Bedroom Wall
Written by Laura Willilams
Illustrated by A. Nancy Goldstein
Reviewed by Ashley A. (age 9)
Imagine growing up in Germany during World War I, when the Nazis tried to kill all of the Jews and other non-loyal Germans. This book's main character is Korinna Rehme, a thirteen year-old girl, who is very active in a local Fungmadel, a Nazi youth group with many of her friends and her best friend Rita. The local Fungmadel group is like girl scouts; they go hiking, sing songs, help the elderly, and clean up their environment. One day after school Korinna hears sounds while she is doing her homework. Her parents tell her it is just mice and buy her a kitten. However, Korinna finds out that her parents are hiding Jews. Korinna almost turns her parents in, but instead Rita turns them in for her.
Although this is not a true story I felt as if it was real. I really enjoyed this book because it makes you feel like you are there, it has great details and great descriptions. My favorite part is the end, when Korinna realizes that the Jews who her mother and father are hiding are really like everbody else. I also liked this book because it had a moral. The moral of this book is that freedom is more important than love; after all if there wasn't freedom you wouldn't be free to love who you want. Another thing I like about this book is the characters. Korinna reminds me of myself, because she can change wrong to right and always gets a lesson out of it.
I would recommend this book to girls who like drama and adventure. I also think this book would interest you if you have or had a strong relationship with a friend. I wouldn't recommend this book to kids under six because they might not understand it.