Hitler's Secret

Gr 5–8—This far-fetched adventure/thriller is loosely based on World War II history. Two teenagers who have already escaped Nazi-controlled Europe to England are recruited by the British secret service. The focus of their top-secret and dangerous mission is to rescue nine-year-old Angelika from a convent in Bavaria and take her to Switzerland. The girl's true identity is never disclosed, though there are hints that she is Hitler's daughter. Whether Hitler actually had a daughter is not known. The teens, code named Lenni and Otto Fischer, are chosen for the mission because of their fluency in German and the credibility of three youngsters traveling together. They go through a grueling two-week training period, which miraculously renders them capable of flying planes, scampering over rope bridges, shooting machine guns, and driving through barrages of gunfire. Osborne, a Hollywood screenwriter, combines historical facts with a great deal of literary license focused on propelling the action. Each death-defying adventure that Lenni and Otto survive boggles the mind, only to be followed by similar amazing feats. Angelika also shows unusual bravery and confidence in her young rescuers. She thinks they are taking her to see her parents, though there is no background as to why she was in the convent. Margi Preus's Shadow on the Mountain (Abrams, 2012), in which a secret mission carried out by youngsters is grippingly depicted, is a far better choice.—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ