Escape to West Berlin [Hardcover]

Maurine F. Dahlberg (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

The advent of the Wall

Heidi's thirteenth birthday is coming up, but she's disappointed -- her mother is pregnant and refuses to make the annual summer visit to Heidi's grandmother. What's more, it's 1961 and the government is cracking down on border crossers, people who work in the West but live in the East. Heidi's father is a border crosser, and her best friend, Petra, has been forbidden to see Heidi until her father finds a new job in East Berlin. Heidi feels betrayed. Then, as political tension mounts, her parents tell her they are secretly moving West, and Heidi must travel alone to get her grandmother. But how can she do it without Petra's help?

The author captures all the terror of the time in her gripping story of an indomitable heroine who steals across the Berlin border by facing her greatest fear.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7–It is 1961, and Heidi's 13th summer is filled with disappointments. First her parents cancel their annual trip to her beloved grandmother's farm because Mutter is about to give birth. Then Heidi's father is labeled a "border crosser" because he continues to travel from East Berlin to work in West Berlin. This causes a threat of eviction from their apartment and the loss of her best friend. When an opportunity to defect to the West arises, the only thing standing in the way of her freedom and new life is the Teltow Canal and Heidi's haunting fear of the water. Dahlberg presents a realistic portrayal of the formal separation of East and West Germany and the building of the Berlin Wall. Cultural lessons and German dialect are smoothly incorporated into the narrative. The climax is well timed and, though somewhat obvious, holds readers' attention. Youngsters will also relate to Heidi's emotional struggle with maturity, where episodes of clinging and pouting are intermingled with the desire to be treated like an adult and to be given more independence.–Kimberly Monaghan, formerly at Vernon Area Public Library, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. In this novel set just before the construction of the Berlin Wall, 13-year-old Heidi and her family undertake a risky journey from East Berlin to the city's western sector. East Germany has become increasingly intolerant of citizens thought to embrace capitalist values, and Heidi's dad, who works in West Berlin and wants to keep his well-paying, satisfying job, faces stiff opposition from officials and neighbors who toe the party line. In utmost secrecy, the Klenks plot an escape that becomes more dangerous every day. Her mother and father slip across first, and Heidi and her grandmother plan to follow. Then the government suddenly closes the border. A bit of heavy-handed melodrama ensues as Oma makes it through an unguarded gap, but Heidi is stuck on the barbed wire--literally!--and must make a second attempt via a daring alternate route. Dahlberg's clear desire to convey information about the historical period sometimes slows things down, but she does a good job of weaving a suspenseful plot alongside the details of the cold war. Anne O'Malley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (September 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374309590
• ISBN-13: 978-0374309596
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,044,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I don't remember a time when I didn't write! Even before I learned to write words, I drew picture stories. My sister and I read a lot and were always writing stories for each other. We also spent a lot of time playing make-believe--we were everything from horses to princesses--so I got plenty of experience "being" someone else and developing plots. When I was ten, I learned to play flute. Music, reading, and writing became my main activities outside of school.

I continued writing over the years, but I didn't sell any manuscripts until, after reading many World War II memoirs, I got the idea for Play to the Angel. I had never tried writing a book set in another time and place, and at first I was afraid to try. But as the story came together in my head, I knew I had to tell it. I loved researching and writing it. I found that writing a historical novel lets me "be" someone else in another time while still having my own life in today's world.

I was born in Fulton, Missouri, and went to college in Texas. I've lived a number of other places, including a village on a mountaintop in Germany. Now I live in Northern Virginia, with my husband, Randy, and our cat, Daphne, who's an Egyptian Mau. In addition to writing, I'm a full-time editor for a research corporation. Evenings and weekends, Randy and I are musicians. We play in a concert band and a German band, and often play in pit orchestras for local community theater groups.

Right now I'm working on an adult novel set in present-day Scotland. I have a lot more ideas for books I hope to write, both for adults and for young readers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Researched, Educational, and Entertaining, April 22, 2005

By 

Virginia Fairchild (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Escape to West Berlin (Hardcover)

Escape to West Berlin is a wonderful "can't-put-it-down" book for young readers of all ages. Like Maurine Dahlberg's other novels, this one is well researched, educational, and entertaining.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars *!!!Tabby's Review!!!*, October 24, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Escape to West Berlin (Hardcover)

When Heidi's father is called a border crosser for living in the East but working in the West,the Westerners are very angry because he has a very well paying job and some of the westerners don't because easterners take their job oportunities.Vater, Heidi's father, must lie and say he is currently looking for a job in the East.When the family built up enough courage they decided to live in the West so he can keep his well paying job,he needs to keep his job because Mutter(Heidi's Mother)is pregnent and can not work she doesn't make any money so Vater must make enough to keep food on the table. The family took such a long time to make this decision, some terible things began to happen in Berlin, like the war, the Berlin wall is going up and its difficult to cross because of gaurds. To make matters even worse Heidi's Grandfather Opa has just died of a heart attack,so Oma,Hiedi's Grandmother,must come live with Heidi and her family.She thinks she has time to make desisions on what to take...but she soon finds out the wall is going up and they must cross NOW!!!

Will Heidi,Vater,Mutter,and Oma make it across the border...find out by reading this GREAT book that is full of adventure and mystery. To tell you the truth i had to read this book for a book report, normally when reading for a book report i am bored out of my mind. this time it was different this story was just soooo interesting i just could not put it down...i give this book TWO THUMBS UP!!!
*Tabby =)