"What do you do when your best friend becomes the enemy?
Growing up in Newark, New Jersey, in the 1930s, Benjy Puterman and Tommy Anspach have always done everything together. It never mattered that Benjy was Jewish and Tommy was of German heritage. But as Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party come to power in Germany and war brews in Europe, everything changes. Tommy is sent to Camp Nordland, a Nazi youth camp for German Americans, where he quickly learns that Jews are the enemy. Heartbroken by the loss of his friend, Benjy forms a teen version of the Newark Minutemen, an anti-Nazi vigilante group, all the while hoping that Tommy will abandon his extremist beliefs.
Will Benjy and Tommy be able to overcome their differences and be friends again?
Based on the true story of the Newark Minutemen and the New Jersey pro-Nazi German youth camp, this daring and powerful novel in verse reveals the long history of American right-wing extremism, and its impact on the lives of two ordinary teens. A story that unfortunately still rings true today.
“Facing the Enemy offers a frightening glimpse into a little-known slice of America’s history. Two best friends—one Jewish and one of German heritage—pit themselves against each other as antisemitism rises alongside German nationalism in a corner of New Jersey in the years leading up to World War II.
Poetry is the perfect form for this well-researched, chilling read.”—Kip Wilson, award-winning author of White Rose"
"Convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union against the United States, Ethel Rosenberg shares the story of her beliefs, loves, secrets, betrayals, and injustices in this compelling YA novel in verse.
In 1953, Ethel Rosenberg, a devoted wife and loving mother, faces the electric chair. People say she’s a spy, a Communist, a red. How did she get here? In a series of heart-wrenching poems, Ethel tells her story. The child of Jewish immigrants, Ethel Greenglass grows up on New York City’s Lower East Side.
She dreams of being an actress and a singer but finds romance and excitement in the arms of the charming Julius Rosenberg. Both are ardent supporters of rights for workers, but are they spies? Who is passing atomic secrets to the Soviets? Why does everyone seem out to get them?
This first book for young readers about Ethel Rosenberg is a fascinating portrait of a commonly misunderstood figure from American history, and vividly relates a story that continues to have relevance today."
