A Night Divided, by Jennifer A. Neilsen (Book Review)

 

Only two years after the end of World War Two, twelve year old Gerta Lowe suddenly finds an Iorn Curtain dividing Germany in two. The same wall the divided her country, also divided her family. She, her mother, and her oldest brother live in the East, while her father and middle brother, are in the West, where they had gone in search of work, and now cannot return home. Now, in the imprisonment of the East, it’s dangerous to watch the wall, speak out, or even to think the forbidden thoughts of life across the wall. She sees the soldiers with their guns pointed on their own citizens, and realizes that she is as good as a prisoner here. 

But one day, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform across the wall is the West, and finds different clues from him and concludes that her father wants them to tunnel beneath the wall, into freedom. But if they fail and get caught, there will be deadly consequences…

“Courage isnt knowing you can do something; its only being willing to try…”

This book was quite the page turner! Jennifer Nielsen really makes historical fiction come out it a way thats not distant, so in the past, and like another school book, but makes it relatable and interesting. Her characters are very relatable in their thinking and emotions too. Obviously not necessarily in the main plot (like escaping an imprisoned country), but in what they are experiencing. She makes a lot of life circumstances come out in her stories. I really enjoy of suspenseful this book was, and how it really made you care about the characters. The main thing I think I enjoyed in this book was in fact the plot. Even though i think it would have been a more interesting book if there was some more depth to it, the main plot so interesting and I couldn’t stop reading it. As I’ve said, Jennifer Nielsen’s style of writing reminders me of Suzanne Collins, but I do think the only reason why I like Suzanne Collins’ writing better would be that she has mastered the depth of a storyline. I really enjoy books that have multiple things going on. I found that Jennifer Nielsens writing, as well as being very good for the different reasons I said before, was also just so much focused on the main plot that you didn’t really know about the side things. Like if a lot of times there will be a romance or other kind of relationship involved, or another plot that ties in to the main one, but Jennifer Nielsen’s writing was just do much focused on the main thing going on that you only really know about the character’s actual character based off of the things going on in the main plot, so yes, there is a lot of character development in her books, but not on multiple levels…But I do know that every writer has their own style, so maybe that’s just her style of writing and I simply enjoy a bit more depth. 

Now I come to the last thing want to point out. As one of my favorite quotes says, the best books are the ones you cry in. If a book doesn’t me you feel something, its not a good book. And I definitely felt in this book. 

“Truly, it’s in the darkness that one finds the light.”

I would recommended this book for 12 year olds and up because there is death and harder things to understand, and thats the age of the main character, so I think a lot of the age group could relate. 

I would rate this book a 8 out of 10.

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