The Wall

Lutzeier, Elizabeth

ISBN 10: 0823409872 ISBN 13: 9780823409877

Publisher: Holiday House, 1992

Synopsis

After her mother is shot trying to cross the Berlin Wall, Hannah is forced to cope with the pain of her mother's death, the pressures of a restricted life behind the Iron Curtain, and the threats to her family.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6 Up-- Hannah's mother is shot and killed trying to cross the Berlin Wall just six months before it falls. This foreknowledge granted to readers gives the book a sense of irony that at times is almost unenduringly heavy. Her mother's death puts a strain on the girl and her father that almost drives them apart while she grows closer to Steffi, a girl her own age who seems so daring and free of the fears that grip Hannah. This novel does a good job of re-creating an oppressive atmosphere of mistrust, suspicion, and lies. Hannah is not even allowed to grieve for her mother, for to do would draw attention to her father and herself. She cannot talk to her father about her mother or her own growing involvement with the freedom movement. It's not until the end that she discovers that he, too, has been secretly working for liberation. This is not only a unique view of a specific historical event, but also an affirmation of the power of a people to speak and be heard, and, through diligence and perseverance, to topple a tyrannical regime. --Susan M. Harding, Mesquite Public Library, TX
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Every word in this account of life in East Germany just prior to reunification might be true, but Lutzeier's horrified tones and monolithic approach undercut her credibility. When Hannah's mother is killed while trying to drive across the Berlin Wall, Hannah and her father must feign indifference in order to keep the authorities from declaring their home unfit. Hannah's best friend defects with her family, and Hannah takes up with a freethinker named Steffi, who inspires her to acts of defiance. The atmosphere is almost inescapably repressive: the school monitors their private lives; participation in Party functions is virtually mandatory; Big Brother sees and hears everything. Hannah's astonishment and the freshness of her outrage at the regime she's grown up with smack of the propagandist's trade. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Holiday House
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0823409872
• ISBN 13: 9780823409877
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 32