Into the Fire

Gr 3-7–At the end of book one in the “Westfallen” series, readers learned that 2023’s middle schoolers, Henry, Frances, and Lukas, with the help of their new friends from 1944 (Alice, Lawrence, and Artie), had used their newly discovered time-traveling skills to alter history and successfully prevented sad, war-related consequences for their friends from the past. However, by the end of the story, those consequences were clearly taking bad turns. The Nazis have dissolved the United States and created Westfallen, a modern dystopian society. With perspective shifting among characters, each child relates how they and their family are trying to survive the new world order. The six friends must fix the chilling problems they inadvertently created when they made that fateful decision to meddle with time. But will time run out before they can make things right? Just like the first book, this title is resonant and powerful. The plot is ripe for generating lively book discussions once students have read the thrilling cliff-hanger ending, which practically guarantees book three will be a much-anticipated page-turner, too.