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Summary
Summary
The only place they could hide from the Nazis was right beneath their feet!Nazi gun fire can only mean one thing...The Germans are closing in. And twelve-year-old Anton knows his family can't outrun them. A web of underground caves seems like the perfect place to hide. But danger lurks above the surface. Ruthless Major Karl Von Duesen of the Gestapo has made it his mission to round up every Jew in the Ukrainian countryside. Anton knows if his community is discovered, they will be sent off to work camps...or worse. When a surprise invasion catches them off guard, Anton makes a radical decision. He won't run any longer. And he won't hide. He will stop being the hunted...and start doing some hunting of his own. Michael P. Spradlin's newest thriller is the ultimate game of cat and mouse set during one of the darkest moments in history.
Author Notes
Michael P. Spradlin is a New York Times bestselling author. His books include Into the Killing Seas , the Youngest Templar trilogy, the Wrangler Award Winner Off Like the Wind! The First Ride of the Pony Express , and several other novels and picture books. He holds a black belt in television remote control and is fluent in British, Canadian, Australian, and several other English-based languages. He lives in Lapeer, Michigan. Visit him online at michaelspradlin.com.
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
Twelve-year-old Anton and his Ukrainian Jewish family take refuge from the Nazis in 1942 in the Priest's Grotto, a series of (real-life) underground caves. Anton sneaks out each night to search for water and must constantly outwit villainous Gestapo officer Major Von Duesen. Spradlin takes artistic liberties in this rather violent, loosely historical cat-and-mouse thriller, with alternating chapters from Anton's and the major's perspectives. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
During WWII, Nazis troops invade Ukraine. Burning villages and farms, they either kill Jews or round them up for transport. Twelve-year-old Anton, his two uncles, and his grandmother, Bubbe, are soon on the run. Along with other Jewish escapees, they hide in underground caves and tunnels. Meanwhile, above ground, Major Karl Von Duesen directs his troops in a cat-and-mouse game, hoping to destroy these hidden enemies. After Bubbe is captured, Anton strikes back against Von Duesen, who focuses his energy on a personal vendetta to salvage his pride. More accessible to a younger audience than most historical novels on similar topics, this chapter book features a determined protagonist who does what he can to help his family survive. The stakes are high and so is the tension as the action scenes play out. While some characters are depicted as wholly good or evil, the more nuanced portrayals are convincing. Still, readers can feel confident that, whatever price individuals may pay, good will triumph in the end.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-The year is 1942, and 12-year-old Anton, his bubbe, and his uncles are forced to flee their small Ukrainian village with other Jewish residents when the Nazis invade. They seek refuge in secret caves that are known only to locals, sneaking out at night to find water for their survival. Meanwhile, Major Von Duesen, a Nazi commander whose mission it is to capture or kill as many Jews as possible, is outwitted time and again by Anton and his kin. Chapters alternate between Anton, who often seems wise beyond his young years, and Von Duesen, a caricature villain who will stop at nothing, including personal ruin, to capture the boy and seek revenge. Scenes of sabotage and suspense, including several lucky escapes and a couple of disturbing murder scenes, will keep readers turning the pages. However, the breakneck action supersedes any real character development. Although Anton struggles with issues of faith, longing for his missing father, and loss, these themes are dealt with only on a cursory level. VERDICT Set in an interesting locale, this will satisfy historical fiction fans who want page-turning action without much depth.-Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public Library © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An old-fashioned boys' adventure tale emerges from an almost unrecognizable retelling of a true Holocaust survival story.Twelve-year-old Anton is a Jewish peasant in the Ukrainian village of Borshchiv. Anton's grandmother (evidently based on real-life heroine Esther Stermer, never named in the author's note) is sure the Nazis can't be trusted. In the dead of night, Anton and his family sneak away to hide in a nearby cave. Evil Gestapo officer Von Duesen is determined to make Borshchiv Judenfrei, completely free of Jews, and he's sure there's a Jewish family hiding around here somewhere. Von Duesen becomes increasingly unhinged throughout the year as Anton outwits him. He makes mean threats when Anton's grandmother spits in his face, and eventually he turns to murder, horrifying other Nazis by shooting some Jews in cold blood: " Mein Gott, Herr Major...Was haben Sie getan?' What have you done?" His Gestapo superiors even punish him for the murder, because of potential public relations damage. Of the historical and cultural inaccuracies permeating Anton's adventure, the most egregious is this portrayal of Nazis (who by 1943 in the real Borshchiv had shot or buried alive over 3,000 Jews, including one massacre of 1,800 that took three days, just months before Von Duesen's supposed crime).The world has no need of a Holocaust tale that presents Nazism as relatively benign. (sources, author's note) (Historical fiction. 8-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Silence was life. Stillness was freedom. Anton turned his head to the dirt, so light would not reflect off his face. He curled his body tightly and tried to control his breathing, certain he was going to be discovered. As the sound of the halftrack grew nearer he and Bubbe had hurried toward the tree line. But his grandmother hadn't been able to make it. Behind them, he could hear the engine stop and the men leave the vehicle. He heard orders barked in German. "Bubbe," he whispered. "Cover yourself with dirt." The soil was damp from the recent rains. He dug his hands into the ground and disguised his face and hands. He helped his grandmother cover hers and pulled her shawl up around her face. "When the soldiers come, you must make yourself as small as possible and keep your face turned to the ground," he said. "Be brave my kinder," she said. He watched his grandmother curl herself into a ball. Many years of hard work on the farm had made her stiff, and she grunted with the effort.Anton lifted his head slightly and studied the four men. They were spreading out along the road and he heard automatic weapons being cocked. The noise of the guns carried across the field so loudly he felt as if the sound was cutting through him. When the Gestapo entered the wheat field, he ducked down, burrowing into the ground as best he could. I must not look, he thought to himself. I must not look. He repeated the words over and over in his mind. Anton focused on the sound of the approaching men. Their boots whispered through the wheat stalks. He wondered if he and Bubbe had somehow been spotted. The approaching vehicle had caught them by surprise. Anton willed himself to total stillness, praying that he could make himself invisible. To Anton, the men's footsteps sounded louder than cannon fire and he was certain his heart would explode. The voice of one of the soldiers startled him so much he nearly cried out. Anton only understood a little German. But he believed the man was ordering him and Bubbe to show themselves. Telling them that they would not be harmed. Anton wondered how this could be true. Their guns said otherwise. Silence was life. The men were moving again. They would be upon him in moments. Should he run? Should he take Bubbe by the arm and make a break for the trees? No. They would never make it. The soldiers would gun them down before they had taken more than a step. The soldiers crept closer. One of them was only meters away. The man's steps sounded like thunder. Anton desperately wanted to look, but he did not dare. Stillness was freedom. Excerpted from The Enemy Above by Michael P. Spradlin All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
