Hitler's Secret

October 14, 2013
Screenwriter Osborne makes his fiction debut with a fast-paced historical adventure that sees two teens infiltrating 1941 Bavaria on a vital mission. Austrian Leni and German Otto, both refugees living in England, are tapped to go undercover as part of a desperate attempt to find and retrieve a girl who holds unknown significance to Adolf Hitler. The meaty plot and dialogue-driven prose take the two on an adventure that, however improbable at times, provides abundant intrigue. With one of the Third Reich's top men, the fearsome Reinhard Heydrich, in hot pursuit, Leni and Otto are forced to bite back their anger at the Nazis and terror of being apprehended to complete their mission (rescuing nine-year-old Angelika from a convent). Osborne writes with an eye for the big screen, his story barreling forward with kinetic energy and punctuated by narrow escapes from wartime and natural hazards, but he never loses sight of his main characters' inner workings. Though the narrative skews toward action over rumination, Osborne maintains a balance between the two and delivers a satisfying, slightly bittersweet experience. Ages 12âup.

September 1, 2013
Two teenagers are recruited to infiltrate Nazi Germany to retrieve a valuable package that might end World War II. It is 1941. The United States has yet to enter the fray, and the British government is quickly becoming aware that they are losing the war. However, the defection of Rudolf Hess, Deputy Fuhrer of the Third Reich, gives them information that they might use as leverage against Hitler. Located deep behind enemy lines is a young girl being held in a monastery; Hess claims she is the daughter of a high-ranking Nazi official. While it is never confirmed, it is thought that her father is Hitler himself. Officials determine that the best plan for extraction rests on two teen refugees from Germany, code named Otto and Leni. After only two weeks of intense training, the two are dropped behind enemy lines with the order to retrieve the girl. The fast-moving plot is populated by both real and fictional characters. Stock characters, familiar tropes and scenes that seem lifted straight from the silver screen are clear evidence of Osborne's career as a blockbuster screenwriter (according to the jacket flap, his credits include The Mummy and GoldenEye). Unfortunately, the nonstop action shortchanges both plot and readers; danger only makes for good fiction when readers care about the characters. Explosive but lacking depth. (Historical fiction. 12 & up)

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November 1, 2013

Gr 5-8-This far-fetched adventure/thriller is loosely based on World War II history. Two teenagers who have already escaped Nazi-controlled Europe to England are recruited by the British secret service. The focus of their top-secret and dangerous mission is to rescue nine-year-old Angelika from a convent in Bavaria and take her to Switzerland. The girl's true identity is never disclosed, though there are hints that she is Hitler's daughter. Whether Hitler actually had a daughter is not known. The teens, code named Lenni and Otto Fischer, are chosen for the mission because of their fluency in German and the credibility of three youngsters traveling together. They go through a grueling two-week training period, which miraculously renders them capable of flying planes, scampering over rope bridges, shooting machine guns, and driving through barrages of gunfire. Osborne, a Hollywood screenwriter, combines historical facts with a great deal of literary license focused on propelling the action. Each death-defying adventure that Lenni and Otto survive boggles the mind, only to be followed by similar amazing feats. Angelika also shows unusual bravery and confidence in her young rescuers. She thinks they are taking her to see her parents, though there is no background as to why she was in the convent. Margi Preus's Shadow on the Mountain (Abrams, 2012), in which a secret mission carried out by youngsters is grippingly depicted, is a far better choice.-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ

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