WAR GAMES

When the Nazis take over their small town in 1941 Greece, 12-year-old Petros and his family must keep a dangerous secret: The children, born in America, would be targeted by the Germans, though it is never made clear exactly why. Although Petros asks his father, “Why is it so bad to be American?” the answer is elided, keeping readers as mystified as Petros himself. When the Nazi commander comes to live in their house and a cousin active in the underground returns to town, the tension becomes palpable. Based on Akila Couloumbis’s (husband of co-author Audrey) life, this understated novel puts readers right in the middle of a Nazi occupation, with little movie-style high drama but a sure sense of what it was really like—the desire to get on with everyday life, the unease, the secrets and the quiet acts of defiance in the face of life-threatening circumstances. A fine introduction to an important aspect of World War II and to the spirit of resistance the times required. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 8-12)