Summer of My German Soldier (Puffin Modern Classics) (original 1973; edition 2006)

I loved this book. Ok, I was about 12 when I read it, but still. It was enough to hold my attention for an hour or so. ( )

This is book is very well-written and I felt like I was really there with Patty. The story is heartbreaking because Patty is so desperate for any sign of affection from her parents, and they don't really love her. This book affected me the way Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim did—I'm very glad I read it but it makes me want to cry knowing there are actual people who are treated the way Patty and (and Lucy in Vera) are treated. ( )

Summer of my German Soldier by Bette Green is a short book telling the story of Patty Bergen, a young Jewish-American girl living in Aransas during World War II. The summer that she was twelve German prisoners of war are brought to a camp near her small town of Jenkinsville.

Patty meets one of these prisoners when they are brought to her father’s store, and realizes that this young man is nothing like the fearful Nazi’s she has heard of, in fact, he was very nice to her. Being treated nicely is something Patty doesn’t have a lot of experience with as her self-absorbed mother is highly critical of her and her father is a short tempered, abusive man. Patty spends most of her young life trying to please her parents and get them to like her. When this young German escapes, Patty offers him food, shelter and clothing. While harbouring him, their friendship develops and Anton realizes he must move on, if only to keep Patty safe from the authorities. But it appears that she is doomed to be found out and finds herself having to face consequences that would break a weaker person.

The book, while detailing the friendship between Patty and Anton, really is much more about Patty developing her self-esteem and making plans for her future. Coming to the realization that nothing is ever going to change in her relationship with her parents, Patty must learn how to get through the next few years until she is old enough to move forward and establish her independence.

I found Summer of My German Soldier to be both heart-breaking and thought provoking. This is not a light story with a happy ending, but it is realistic and, thankfully, the reader is left with some hope for Patty’s future. ( )

From Amazon.com: When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp housing German prisoners during World War II, 12-year-old Patty Bergen learns what it means to open her heart. Although she's Jewish, she begins to see a prison escapee, Anton, not as a Nazi--but as a lonely, frightened young man with feelings not unlike her own. RGG: Wonderfully written. Physical child abuse. Allies are prolific. Consider question of risk of being an ally. Recommend.

From Amazon.com: When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp housing German prisoners during World War II, 12-year-old Patty Bergen learns what it means to open her heart. Although she's Jewish, she begins to see a prison escapee, Anton, not as a Nazi--but as a lonely, frightened young man with feelings not unlike her own. RGG: Wonderfully written. Physical child abuse. Allies are prolific. Consider question of risk of being an ally. Recommend.