War Games by Alan Gratz. 368 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., October 7, 2025. 978225000257.
Any book by Alan Gratz was an automatic purchase for me until I retired as a middle school librarian recently. I continue to read books for middle and young adult audiences and will continue to read whatever Mr. Gratz publishes. My students adore his novels and I ordered multiple copies of most of his titles.
Twelve-year-old Evie Harris hopes to help her "Okie" family out of poverty by winning gold in the 1936 Olympics in Germany as part of the U.S. Olympics gymnastics team. She thinks this is her ticket to Hollywood stardom, like her idol, equestrian and movie star, Mary Brooks. Unfortunately for her, her teammates ostracize her and she fails the qualifying rounds. Since her Olympic dreams are dashed, she considers joining the shady Solomon Monday with his plans to rob the Reichsbank of its gold. As Monday says, this is one way for Evie to bring home the gold. Only, she has to ditch the ever-present Hitler Youth guide, Heinz.
This layered, plot-driven heist novel illustrates the behind the scenes story of the 1936 Olympics. The main characters are fictitious, as is the heist, but the political precariousness of those Olympics are factual. A detailed Author's Note separates fact from fiction for the reader.
Fans of the author and fans of heist novels will gobble this up. Due out on October 7.
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