Blitzkrieg

Gr 7 Up–Growing up in Berlin as the son of diplomats from New Zealand, 12-year-old Joe St. George speaks fluent German, plays soccer, and longs to join the Hitler Youth. After his father is arrested by the Gestapo, Joe and his mother navigate a perilous escape to England. Joe is then sent to live with relatives in New Zealand. Hoping to reunite with his mother and join the war effort, Joe returns to London where he is recruited by MI6 for a dangerous mission in Paris under the code name Katipo. As Joe undergoes his spy training and parachutes into occupied France, he meets allies and foes along the way, from the orphaned “Blitz rats” of London to his childhood friend Klaus, all who help weave an authentic, suspenseful spy story. Told with intermittent first-person entries from Joe’s adult memoirs, this fast-paced thriller is filled with World War II historical details that are seamlessly woven into the narrative and plot which leave room for sequel.