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Summary: Summer Of Josie's German Book Report
Review: This is a story of Patty Bergen, a trouble making, homely thirteen-year-old growing up on the American World War Two homefront. Patty's parents are verbally abusive, and her father is known to beat her on occasion. When a German POW escapes from the local prison camp, she allows him sanctuary in hidden rooms in her home. This German soldier proves to be her first love and one of the only people who truly loves her back.
I, personally, would not recommend this book for pleasure reading. The novel had well-developed characters, and that was mostly what the author concentrated on. It seemed Bette Greene wanted to just develop a character, and not a story. When something tragic happens to Patty, I'm so busy learning everything about her that I did not shed a tear. Summer of My German Soldier seems to be an analysis of the adolescent human mind, not a novel I could fall in love with.
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Summary: Book Review for Summer of My German Soldier
Review: This is really dramatic and romantic! when i read it for english class in 7th grade,i liked it from the whole beginning.I think it's sad how patty's family and the towns people treat her.& it has some interesting history background!
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Summary: INTENSE AND PAINFUL BUT EXCELLENT NOVEL
Review: This was a truly painful book for me--I might have abandonned the effort if my reading group had not chosen it. Neither Jewish nor Germanic, I am simply uncomfortable reading about the victimization of children--whether the brutality is physical or emotional. In this case 12-year-old Patty Bergen endured both in the home where she was supposed to be safe and valued. It definitely would have been my loss had I not continued, but it was not a book to "enjoy". I felt the tension rising with grim persistence, as I realized that she lived in perpetual fear: of maternal rejection and ridicule; of her vicious, child-beater father; of coming in a poor second place to her pretty, petted little sister. Worst of all she knew that the entire, narrow-minded Arkansas town would oppose her humanitarian treatment of an eascaped German (but not Nazi) POW. The story reminds us that World War II came disagreeably close to home--not with bullets, air raids and invasion, but in a more subtle manner--by attacking the mind as well. In Greene's scenario of mass paranoia and government-promoted prejudice, there is no room for human compassion, international understanding or the budding of romance. Even pure friendship is tainted by vicious minds. But Patty is a real heroine, willing to endure social stigma and punishment to remain true to her heart. The ending was sudden and shattering. A heart-wrenching, thought-provoking book for mature readers.
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