TO ZENZI

Thirteen-year-old Tobias Koertig joins the German youth army in the final months of World War II, quickly earning the Iron Cross for battlefield valor. But his luck may run out as his jealous archnemesis seeks payback.

In 1945, amid seemingly endless bombings from the British and Russians, Tobias is driven by hunger to enlist. He leaves behind Zenzi Fuchs, a girl whose Jewish blood marks her for danger. Although Zenzi warns Tobias that the Nazis have been killing the Jews, Tobias is naïvely convinced that the Germans would never do such a thing and will instead develop superweapons to defeat the Russians. A talented artist and daydreamer, Tobias imagines a world of the future in which time machines, glass architecture, pneumatic tubes, and space travel abound. Once recruited, Tobias makes a fast friend in Albrecht Stalla, a mischievous boy who introduces Tobias to the arts of insubordination. Tobias also meets Werner Fenzel, his squad leader, who takes a dislike to Tobias, which inspires him to send Tobias and Stalla on dangerous maneuvers. But those maneuvers lead to an accident for which Tobias receives the Iron Cross, an award Fenzel believes he himself deserves. Tobias' alleged courage as well as his artistic skills catch Hitler’s interest, and soon Tobias has a new job sketching the fallen city, a job that enables him to reunite with Zenzi and plan an escape. Set against the historic fall of Berlin, this debut novel vibrates with emotion. Shuster deftly captures the shaky terrain of adolescence. Tobias' early experiences of grief and love are cut short by the urgency of falling bombs. And in the face of risky missions and confusing commands, he is not simply afraid, but bewildered by the unstable, unheroic leadership around him. His adventures spiral into a new life in America, but his past haunts him still.

A sweeping portrait of survival in spite of devastating loss.