readingthroughtheages's review
4.0
Fantastic historical fiction around the time the Berlin Wall came down.
So much history is embedded into this story, makes for a fascinating read.
So much history is embedded into this story, makes for a fascinating read.
catladyreba's review
3.0
What an interesting book. And as often happens in books that I read, there were some interesting parallels. I happened to be reading The Husband's Secret at the same time, and there is a running theme of The Berlin Wall throughout that book. So interesting. Anyway, this book has so much to it; history, friendship, families, spies. It is definitely worth the read.
yapha's review against another edition
4.0
Noah's day went from strange to surreal as his parents picked him up from school, told him his name was now Jonah and his birthday was 6 months later than he thought, threw out his back pack, and went straight to the airport to fly from what was no longer his home in Virginia to East Germany. Noah has an Astonishing Stutter, and speaking German with all of its hard consonants doesn't help. It is 1989 and his mother has received permission to study children with speech defects in East Berlin. It is rare and unusual for Americans to be there, and Noah/Jonah must follow a strict set of rules, which may or may not include the possibility of making friends. This fascinating look at life just before the fall of the Berlin Wall will intrigue young readers who are looking for real-life spy stories. Pair this with Jennifer Nielsen's A Night Divided for a look at the beginning and end of the Wall. Highly recommended to grades 4 & up.
aconant's review against another edition
4.0
I should have written a review right away. I've read a few books since then so some of the details will be lost at this point.
I really enjoyed this book. It has elements from so many different genres that I think it will appeal to a wide audience. It starts with realistic fiction, then you realize you are reading historical fiction, then you realize, no wait it's a mystery, oh, wait again, it's a spy book. Wow! A lot going on here. This book will require your complete attention.
I never like to give summaries because Goodreads takes care of that better than I could anyway, so why bother. I will tell you what I think and what I liked.
I'm a historical fiction reader so I like history and learning a little with my stories. I was a little disappointed to find out the time period was near the end of the fall of the wall. I thought I was going to be getting more of A Night Divided (when the wall goes up) which was fascinating to me (see my review on that one, loved that book!). In the end, I was glad that I read two books about the Berlin Wall one from the time it went up and this one Cloud and Wallfish about when it starts to come down.
The history didn't seem over the top in your face to me (but I am a history reader). I think the story was compelling enough and the action and mystery will keep non-historical fiction readers turning the page.
The perspective of an outsider on the inside of the of a socialist country was amazing. There are a lot of learning opportunities for students who probably have very little to no information about this time in history.
Understanding what it is like to live without the freedoms that Americans often take for granted is a good reality check anyone.
All that wonderful knowledge and history aside it's also a story of a deep friendship forged by two outsiders.
I really enjoyed this book. It has elements from so many different genres that I think it will appeal to a wide audience. It starts with realistic fiction, then you realize you are reading historical fiction, then you realize, no wait it's a mystery, oh, wait again, it's a spy book. Wow! A lot going on here. This book will require your complete attention.
I never like to give summaries because Goodreads takes care of that better than I could anyway, so why bother. I will tell you what I think and what I liked.
I'm a historical fiction reader so I like history and learning a little with my stories. I was a little disappointed to find out the time period was near the end of the fall of the wall. I thought I was going to be getting more of A Night Divided (when the wall goes up) which was fascinating to me (see my review on that one, loved that book!). In the end, I was glad that I read two books about the Berlin Wall one from the time it went up and this one Cloud and Wallfish about when it starts to come down.
The history didn't seem over the top in your face to me (but I am a history reader). I think the story was compelling enough and the action and mystery will keep non-historical fiction readers turning the page.
The perspective of an outsider on the inside of the of a socialist country was amazing. There are a lot of learning opportunities for students who probably have very little to no information about this time in history.
Understanding what it is like to live without the freedoms that Americans often take for granted is a good reality check anyone.
All that wonderful knowledge and history aside it's also a story of a deep friendship forged by two outsiders.
jengennari's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the humor and voice in this! Noah is the right mix of curious and bored, with the intrigue of Claudia, his parents, and the Wall in 1989. (Nesbet must have had fun imagining the fall of the wall from a kid's perspective.)
s_hay's review against another edition
3.0
When both of his parents pick Noah up from school one day they inform him that they are leaving for an immediate vacation to Germany. But it is 1989 and the Germany that they are heading to is East Germany and they will have to do some pretending for the government to let them in - such as Noah is now Jonah, his birthday is no longer in March, and he is still ten. 'Jonah' finds East Berlin to be rather boring. He is not permitted to go to school and the few kids he meets are cruel to him because if his extreme stutter. At last he makes a friend in the girl living in an apartment below him, but things are not as they seem. Together they try to brighten a dreary place and Jonah seeks to figure out what it is that his mother is actually doing in Berlin.
Fiction off set with non-fiction snippets about the Cold War era in Berlin.
Good for ages 10 and up.
Fiction off set with non-fiction snippets about the Cold War era in Berlin.
Good for ages 10 and up.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful historical fiction novel for middle graders, set in East Berlin in 1989, about a young boy whose life is turned upside down and how he copes. One day his parents pick him up at school and tell him they're going to take that German vacation they've been learning German for--right now! And oh, by the way, they're going to the "other" Germany, and, furthermore, they'll all be using different names now. So he's not Noah anymore, he has to use the name Jonah. And they give him a bunch of rules he'll have to obey while in East Germany, the biggest of which are to say nothing important while inside their apartment, because "they're always listening," and to "not stick out" and "observe everything!" Noah/Jonah has to put up with boredom for months while he waits to be put into an East German school, but he makes a friend in a nearby apartment, Claudia. He calls her Cloud, because in German her name is pronounced "Cloud-ia", while she calls him Walfisch, or Whale, for the Jonah and the Whale story. The story is very suspenseful, I thought, because you and Jonah don't know just what his parents are up to, there are a lot of questions, as well as the strange surroundings and the general unease in the country as (unbeknownst to the characters) the Iron Curtain is softening and soon the Berlin Wall will open. I loved this book, but I'm biased: I got to visit East Berlin four years before this story takes place, with my West German dad and my family, and so I knew the setting very well, and loved all the historically accurate details. I loved the German vocabulary, and how it was explained for an American reader, as well as the "Secret Files" in every chapter that explained historical events and German and Communist culture. I loved the tone of the book; sometimes it was very humorous, and informal, but sometimes suspenseful as I said earlier. I was never bored with it because I was always as curious as Noah/Jonah to find out what the heck was going on and what would happen next, especially with Cloud's family. I thought the kids were adorable; Jonah has a stutter and while it may have just been a plot device, since it was a reason for his mother to come to Germany to ostensibly do graduate research, it was still a very interesting character flaw and how it affected his life was interestingly told. Great book!
lilyaronovitz's review against another edition
3.0
{3.5} This book started out strong, but I found my interest fading as it progressed. I really liked the way it was written with the "mystery files" at the end of each chapter. Noah is a likable character and his situation is undeniably intriguing. The story did a great job of conveying the tension in the air on the other side of the iron curtain, however, I felt like mid-way through the story, when Jonah found out the story's main secret (that was predictable and heavily alluded to), a lot of the suspense and drama faded away. This is around when my interest level dropped, and I just felt like the story had lost some of the suspense that was keeping me reading. In addition, just based on Noah's age, I think this book was probably directed at middle-grade readers, which might explain the heavy foreshadowing. Overall, this book definitely had a unique and intriguing plot and lovable characters, but is more of a middle-age rather than young adult book.
libscote's review against another edition
4.0
Noah's mom and dad pick him up one day at school, and tell him that he is now going to go by Jonah, and that they are leaving immediately for the German Democratic Republic (GDR), also known as East Germany. He has no time to say goodbye to his friends. Additionally, his birth date has been changed, and his parents' names too. Why is the move so sudden? Why so secret? Can he speak German clearly enough with his stutter? When Noah gets to the GDR, he makes one friend Claudia (which comes out sounding like Cloud). This book was an interesting look at the period when the Wall was about to come down. I loved the secret files at the end, which provided historical context at the end of each chapter.