Bartoletti has taken one episode from her Newbery Honor Book, Hitler Youth, and fleshed it out into thought-provoking novel. When 16-year-old Helmut Hubner listens to the BBC news on an illegal short-wave radio, he quickly discovers Germany is lying to the people. But when he tries to expose the truth with leaflets, he's tried for treason. Sentenced to death and waiting in a jail cell, Helmut's story emerges in a series of flashbacks that show his growth from a naive child caught up in the patriotism of the times, to a sensitive and mature young man who thinks for himself.

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised in the Middle Grade category by the Young Hoosier Book Award. It was recognised by the Carolyn W Field Award. It also was recognised in the Grades 6-8 category by the William Allen White Childens Book Award. It was recognised in the YA category by the Golden Sower Award. Also it was recognised in the Grades 6-8 category by the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award. It was recognised in the Grades 6-8 category by the Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award. It was recognised by the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award. It was recognised in the Ages 10-14 Years category by the Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens. It was recognised by the Tayshas Reading. It was recognised in the Older Readers category by the Sydney Taylor Book Award.

There are 208 pages in this book. This book was published 2008 by Scholastic US .

Susan Campbell Bartoletti is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of many books, both fiction and nonfiction, for children. Her fiction includes the novels The Boy Who Dared , Dear America: A Coal Miner's Bride , and No Man's Land , as well as a number of picture books. She won the Newbery Honor for her nonfiction book Hitler Youth . A former eighth-grade teacher for 18 years, Bartoletti now writes full-time and lives in Pennsylvania with her family.