A fictionalized account of the life of Helmuth Hubener, a German teenager who had the courage to stand up to the Nazis in Germany, at the cost of his life. Bartoletti explores how Hubener came to be drawn into the Hitler Youth Movement, and what possibly might have motivated him to sacrifice everything to tell the German people the truth about Nazi atrocities. Bartoletti wrote this book after researching Hubener’s life for her non-fiction book, Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow.

12 young people’s stories are intertwined in this overview of the Hitler Youth. Hitler’s skill in manipulating teenagers and their parents is chilling, as are the atrocities that “children” were willing to commit. These atrocities stand in sharp contrast to the acts of heroism and bravery, also commited by teenagers who had everything to lose. My one complaint about the book is that with 12 different stories being told simultaneously, it is difficult to keep everyone straight.