In the book Projekt 1065, written by Alan Gratz, Michael O’Shaunessey is involved in the World War II war efforts in Germany. He lives in Germany, but is Irish because his father is the diplomat for the neutral Ireland in the war. In secret, Michael helped his parents gain information about the war and the generals during dinner parties and other events.
Early in the book, Michael meets a new student, Fritz, and started to become friends with him. Michael and Fritz shared secrets with each other, such as their love for American books, which were supposed to be banned from Germany. Michael did not, however, share any secrets about his work for the Allies, because he saw that Fritz was a Nazi at heart. During their tests to become part of the Hitler youth, Michael helped Fritz pass the boxing test, and Fritz helped Michael pass the test where Michael had to jump from a high height. Although after the test, Fritz began obsessing over becoming a perfect Nazi soldier, Michael stuck with him to try to gain access to his father’s German plane blueprints inside Fritz’s house. Michael’s strong memory allowed him to memorize the blueprints and record them later at his own house with his parents, and a pilot Michael had rescued during a search at the beginning of the book. The British pilot taught Michael lessons about the world, about books, and helped Michael work on improving his memory even more.
This book is an eye-opener about the war and the role the youth played. This book teaches the reader the struggles and sacrifices of young kids and how these children were forced to mature into adults because of their circumstances. It helps the reader understand that much of the Nazi hatred was rooted in the childhood of the soldiers, and teaches the reader to be strong and do what is right for the people around them, even if that means to be selfless.
Written by Arianna, Teen Volunteer
CBPL Reviews 