I was born the year the Berlin Wall was erected, so I was drawn to this episodic historical novel. With a chapter for each month, the book follows the experiences of Drew living in West Berlin where his father is stationed with the US Army. His cousin who lives in the East provides a stark contrast to Drew's experiences. The tension of the time period and of the characters' lives grows until the night the wall goes up. Actual newspaper clippings between each chapter set the fictional story within it's very real setting. A great book to pair with Fall Out, Steve Sheinkin's upcoming non-fiction account of the Cold War. Recommended for YA historical fiction readers and interested adults.

In Walls, L. M. Elliott tells the story of Drew McMahon, an army brat whose family has been sent to West Berlin for his father to assume a post in the American sector of the divided city after World War II. Along with his sisters, Drew must adapt to the tense culture of Berlin while representing America in a positive way, a command given to all of the children of American military personnel in their posts outside the US. Adding to their challenges, Drew’s mom has family living in East Berlin, and she hopes Drew can make inroads with his cousin Matthias to show him that a life in the West will offer more than his communist indoctrination ever could.

But the clock is ticking more quickly than anyone knows, and Russia is preparing to close off East Berlin in a sudden and permanent way. Drew must watch out for Soviet spies who might kidnap him or his sisters and win the trust of his arrogant and condescending cousin while he tries to make friends in his new high school and have the normal life every sixteen-year-old wants. When the Berlin Wall is thrown up overnight, Drew faces the greatest dangers of his life and the greatest pressure to get his cousin to the West.

Elliott is a master of creating an atmosphere that readers can move into and inhabit while they read. From minute details like clothing, music, and the Fritos at the potluck dinner, to dramatic descriptions of the Brandenburg Gate and the crumbling ruins of Nazi buildings, she makes readers see and smell and feel her settings. Her characters are equally realistic and believable, and each one is distinct, detailed, and fully round. Drew’s high school friends and cousin, his intimidating neighbor, and the frightening East German guards all come to life in vivid realism. Through her settings and characters, Elliott lays the groundwork for her plot which is well-paced and full of tension, yet it ebbs and flows like real life. Trips to the swimming pool and the lake break up the rising tension, and the story’s suspense rises gently but steadily until the surprising climax. The era of post- WWII Europe is so rarely depicted in young adult literature, and in Walls, Elliott has given teens a gentle, realistic story with high stakes and characters that deserve to be admired, emulated, and honored for their service and resilience.

Very neat fusion of fiction and non, with interesting photo montages throughout from the time. Would definitely recommend for middle grade.

I really enjoyed this book. However, I am not the target audience. I am a middle aged adult, and this book was written for young adult readers, but you do not have to be a teenager to enjoy this book. The main characters are high school students living in Berlin at the time the Berlin Wall was constructed. Most of the children are American kids living on a military base with their parents. The central family has relatives on the East Berlin side. The teenage East German cousin is also a focal point of the story.
This novel gives a flavor of family and adolescent life on a military base in 1960. A lot of the dialogue is based on slang from that period. There is some vocabulary that seems a little bit out of place, as though the author forgot that s/he was writing in 1960 vernacular. As a mature adult, I got a kick out of the language and the pop culture references. I have no idea if this would appeal to today's American teenagers. I think a lot of kids would have difficulty relating to the lifestyle presented in this novel.
Each chapter focuses on a specific month in 1960 or 1961 and begins with news clippings about events that happened during that month. These set the stage for what was happening politically and culturally at the time. I really enjoyed this format and think it could make the content more accessible to today's young people. It provides a history lesson within the context of an entertaining story.
Most of the narrative is spent on day to day life of military brats. The central family's father is conspicuously absent. He apparently is working all of the time and has a minimal role in the children's home life. The actual Berlin Wall did not become part of the story until the last chapter or two, which I found disappointing. The plot revolved around the relationship between the American boy and his German cousin. The author seems to have kept the story fairly light for a young audience, but there are still some valuable insights into life in Communist East Germany.
I think this would be a great book for a high school history class to read and discuss.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy and exchange for my honest review.