I liked that this story offered a fresh view on an often written about subject. A young boy, whose father is away fighting in World War II is concerned about the German prisoners of war in his area who are being shipped off to farms to help to work the land. He happens to be working on one of these farms. As the story unfolds, we learn more about his family, his viewpoints and his love for drawing. The story also tells of his experiences interacting with the different prisoners, and their wildly different personalities and views of the war.

This was a well written tale and an easy read, tackling a sensitive subject. It could be used to engage children when learning about World War II and what happened to soldiers who had been captured and taken to prison camps.

Captive by Donna Stoltzfus is about the tragedies of war, and overcoming prejudices. It is 1944 and John Witmer has gone to the neighboring Miller farm to work, earning money to help his family while his father is off fighting in the war. Also working on the farm is a small group of German POWs. At first John feels only hostility towards them. Soon enough, though, he begins to get to know the young men, especially Hans. The two eventually bond over art, and develop a friendship. Hans even saves John's life when a fire breaks out. They think the fire was started by one of the POWs- Deiter- who should never have been with the Miller's workers at all. Unlike them, Deiter is still rabidly Nazi. John has a hand in recapturing him, thanks to his art.

Then comes the day John gets word his father is coming home. He sustained an injury and is sent back Stateside. Nothing prepares John for his father's appearance nor his reaction towards the pictures John drew of the POWs at the Miller farm, which goes beyond his typical animosity regarding John's art. He pulls John from his work on the farm and forbids him from entering any of his pictures in an art contest whose theme is how war has affected those back home. John's father doesn't even care that it was one of those POWs that saved his son's life. He finally relents and allows John to enter a picture that shows none of the prisoners. The contest exhibition helps his father in more ways than one.

This was a powerful, poignant tale of forgiveness and growth. Both John, and later his father, get lessons in empathy. Many of the German prisoners were coerced to serve. It's a reminder that the German people themselves were under threat of death if they bucked against the Nazi monstrosity. They did what they had to in order to survive, but never bought into the propaganda. They aren't monsters. Most are just like us. We see the trauma of war, and how it affects people, both civilians and soldiers. A part of me understands his father's reactions, even if I disagree with how he handled everything. His father was shipped home, maimed and injured, yet without an adequate support system for getting through adjusting. I understand bitterness in the wake of devastating injury though. The fear and sense of loss. Reading this reminded me of reading the book Summer of my German Soldier when in middle school. I'd definitely recommend this book instead, for middle school reading!

***Many thanks to the Netgalley and Schiffer Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

He hates Germans. His father is in the war fighting them and he has no reason to like them. So why do the people he's working bring them in to work on the farm?

Schiffer Kids and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published October 28th.

What John discovers is that they are not monsters, they're just people like us. They didn't join the service because they wanted to, they had to. Hans even saved his life when the building they were working began burning. His attitude about the Germans is changing.

But when his father comes home without his feet and lower legs, he has no use for them. Nor does he like his son's drawings that show the Germans. He won't let him use any of them for the drawing contest. So he doesn't win. But he's invited to visit the artist's studio and it looks like his dad has a job making frames. Losing is not all bad...

This was a very enjoyable read. Aimed a younger readers I found it's style was informative and dealt with serious issues without sentiment or avoidance.
The result is a wonderful story that rings true and strikes a chord with one's emotions.
Things are tough for John and his family when his Pop is enlisted and sent off to war. Mum never a great cook and struggling to make ends meet is force to work long hours bending her back over a sewing machine.
To help out, just in his teens and starting to like girls, John goes to work on the Millers' Farm to pick tomatoes to earn a little money. Sarah is a classmate from school and along with Dorothy her sister make a fuss over John who only has an older brother Ben, rapidly approaching an age when he can go and fight.
John although made to feel welcome, he has never tasted food as good or eaten so plentifully, is troubled when he learns a group of German POWs will be joining the farm to help with the harvest. He is conflicted he feels he'll be letting his Dad down working alongside the enemy but has a silent crush on Sarah. He feels he cannot stay but has never been so well fed and his folks could do with the extra money. His mind veering between staying and leaving. his decision is one of necessity in the end as he sees the looks the soldiers give Sarah and feels he cannot leave the girls unprotected.
So begins a memorable Summer, blighted at times by trouble at the farm and news about his Father but a rich time of growing up and coming of age for John.
John is a keen worker and slowly warms to life on the farm; in unguarded moments he captures that with an artist's eye as he sketches those around him with a skill beyond his years.
I loved the pace of the writing and the variations in the story that meant you were never able to jump ahead of the author. The writer captures beautifully the turmoil of teenage years, and the tension having Germans about brings at a time of war and clear prejudices.
John is a warm and affirming character wanting to do the right thing by all and the two sisters on the farm give truth to the author's skill of capturing a child's and young person's voice. The dialogue and interactions between John and Hans a POW are heartbreakingly real and we sense the friendship deepening on both sides before it is revealed.
But the struggle John has with his Father is breathtaking in terms of the drama and energy translated in this story. Back from the War, John's Dad doesn't want him to have anything to do with an enemy he was so recently fighting to the death. This conveys both the bitterness and trouble moving on, into forgiveness but also the independence John has gained while his Dad was away. The scars of war are equally clear and invisible at the same time and the journey John has taken his Dad cannot think to follow - it's too soon. This highlights the many talking points this story carries to make it work on so many levels to entertain and educate equally well.
The most compelling scene is when John faces up to his Dad; trying to show no fear or to step back as his Father, not averse to raises his hand to him weighs up the changes in his Son. The line about John having grown since and perhaps more a equal match isn't forced but the tension drips from the pages like butter from toast and John's default obedience is greatly tested.