4.5 stars

This was a wonderful and well-written book, and I very much enjoyed it. I'm so glad a good friend recommended it to me. It engaged me enough that I sped through it in about one day, which I rarely ever have time or motivation to do.

I especially loved and enjoyed the main character, Heidi; her parents; and the close, loving, and natural relationships between the three of them. I also loved the Heidi's grandma and best friend and her relationships with them. The supporting characters - whether sweet or menacing - were all vivid and wonderful as well. Heidi's growth and struggles as she navigated hardships and fears were very well-done. I identified quite a bit with the main character, including her love of a special vacation spot, her struggles with change in her life and in her friendships, and other things that are strangely similar to my life.

Other things I liked:
The voice and point of view were vivid and drew me in. The story, setting, and characters felt realistic and believable. There was lots of suspense and danger underneath the whole story, the climax was riveting and exciting, and the ending was lovely. The plot, character development, writing style, rich historical detail, foreshadowing, themes, and much more were wonderful.

The author obviously did her research very, very well, and as far as I could tell, the book seems to accurately and vividly portray both daily life in East Berlin for a normal family and the terrifying experience of living there during the creation of the Berlin Wall, with attention to detail that makes it seem very real and immediate. The author also did a wonderful job of portraying the fear and other emotions that come from life in a communist society and dangerous attempts to escape it.

I recommend this book highly to all readers, middle-grade and up, especially those who are interested in history or enjoy quality and well-written historical fiction. ( )

Great Book About a girl liveing East Berlin witch is owned by the Soviet Unioun after World War 2. She must get to the west or be trapped in East Berlin for the rest of her live with harsh connditions. Grade 6-8 ( )

In 1961 East Berlin, thirteen-year-old Heidi copes with the stress of a crisis with her best friend, government pressure on her father to leave his West Berlin job, her mother's pregnancy, and the ever-present threat of the closing of the border with West Berlin. ( )