An emotional, thought-provoking book from multi-award-winning author Bette Greene.
The summer that Patty Bergen turns twelve is a summer that will haunt her forever. When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp housing German prisoners during World War II, Patty learns what it means to open her heart. Even though 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.
In Anton, Patty finds someone who softens the pain of her own father's rejection and who appreciates her in a way her mother never will. While patriotic feelings run high, Patty risks losing family, friends — even her freedom — for this dangerous friendship. It is a risk she has to take and one she will have to pay a price to keep.---from the publisher
240 pages 978-0142406519 Ages 10-14
Keywords: summer, Jewish fiction, World War II, relationships, feelings, father/daughter, friends, friendship, historical fiction, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old, 14 year old, prisoner of war, classic
"An exceptionally fine novel." —The New York Times
