Green, Bette, (1973). Summer of My German Soldier. New York: Dial Press. ISBN: possibly 0803728697. 230 pages.

Summary and Evaluation: This novel flirts on the edge of YA literature. There is no sex (nor any subtext of it). The parents of the main character are central characters. And the main character, Patty, is a twelve year old. This is not the normal age for a YA heroine, nor the normal circumstances. But Patty is a smart and imaginative girl whose wit and curiosity don't fit well with her parents' ideals of daughters nor with growing up in the south during World War II. Add to this the simple love story between Patty, who is Jewish, and a Nazi prisoner of war, and a sophisticated narrative and what you have is a exciting and intriguing read.

What Patty craves is love from her parents. As it turns out, this is an impossible yearning, because her parents barely have love for themselves. What Patty gets is love from the black housekeeper, Ruth, and the escaped Nazi, Anton. Patty's isolation and attempts for love are moving as are the conversations she has with Anton. Though there is only a brief kiss when Anton departs, their honesty and care for each other demonstrate a mature type of relationship.

Greene's central characters bring issues of prejudice and violence to the forefront. Are all Nazi's Jew-haters or are they just staying quiet and passive in order to survive? Is violence perpetrated on your family more acceptable than violence toward a people because it is done behind closed doors? What makes someone "a person of value?" It is these ethical questions that complicate the book and make it one that an older reader could really enjoy.

Though there is rarely any rough language, the book does use racial slurs. As these words are foreign and offensive in 2006, hopefully an older reader could discern their purpose and usefulness within the context of the story.

It seems this book could slip through the cracks of many readers. I believe I owned this book as a teenager, but I am pretty sure I never read it. At 12, I might have been too young to fully understand the story, but at 14 I may have been put off by the young age of the main character and the fact there was no real action between Anton and Patty. It seems that those who find this book could be very fortunate.

Booktalk: This might be a good book to introduce as a diary or letter format. You could make up your own letter from Patty to the escaped Anton. This could allude to the issues within her family as well as the relationship Anton and Patty have. It could also introduce readers to the first person narration of the story.