Thank you to Scholastic and NetGalley for the ARC.

Our setting is 1936, Berlin, Germany at the beginning of the Olympics. Evie, our main character, is originally from Oklahoma, but because of the Dust Bowl, she and her family, like thousands of others, moved to California where they are still struggling. Evie has miraculously qualified in gymnastics for the Olympics and our story starts at the Opening Ceremony, where at the same time she receives a cryptic note saying if she wants gold, she needs to meet someone at a designated time where she finds out they want her as part of a heist to break into a bank and steal Nazi gold. Will she help or decline?

This could be my favorite Alan Gratz book yet for several reasons. 1. It covers the 1936 Olympics from behind the scenes and provides the reader with all the hidden Nazi darkness that pervaded the city at the time, it is full of twists and turns, short chapters that end on cliffhangers, and Evie and the supporting characters are interesting and some are not what they seem. 2. This book was written for middle school students, not adults, so of course students will LOVE it. (Thank you Alan Gratz.) 4. The author's note at the end is terrific because it provides historical context and also which parts were fiction and which parts were fact 5. I want this made into a movie or limited series!
Anyone reading closely will see some social commentary; I wonder if students will pick up on this? (Not complaining, just noticed.:))
I will be purchasing five copies to start, but will probably end up with 10 at least.

Sure to be another winner from Alan Gratz, War Games delivers a high-intensity adventure along with well-researched, interesting historical elements. Gratz weaves the plotting of a nail-biting heist of the Reichsbank with the Nazi-infused 1936 Olympic games. He develops a cast that felt so real I had to Google each one to see if they were actual historical figures or fictionary characters. This one hits all the targets with my middle school audience with World War II, sports, and non-stop action.

Thoughts: Alan Gratz offers a fresh sports-fiction take on World War II. Real-life figures like
Olympian Jesse Owens and Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, among others, also become
compelling characters in War Games. Gratz’s fast signature pace is present to keep the pages
turning, and while the chapters’ perspective is limited to one character, it doesn’t interfere at all
with the intense action plot sequences driving the story forward. There are lots of sports scenes
to keep readers engaged in Olympic moments, but the book is also rife with real historical events
and occurrences during pre-WWII Nazi Germany. Evie witnesses prejudice and injustice against
many different groups of people. Young readers still learning about WWII may also be surprised
to learn that Hitler was democratically elected by the German people, even after he led the
unsuccessful 1923 Beer Hall Putsch plot to overthrow the government. Using the Olympics as a
setting was a brilliant choice by Gratz to introduce students to a new historical lens for Germany
and WWII. Libraries will not be able to keep War Games on the shelves in the years to come—this is a must-add for any middle-level historical fiction collection, and one of Alan Gratz’s strongest works to date.

Tags: Historical Fiction; Sports Fiction; Olympics & Paralympics; Prejudice; Racism; WWII; WWII in Europe

“Where they will burn books, in the end also burn people.” -Heinrich Hein
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It’s 1936 and Berlin is hosting the Olympics during a tumultuous time in their nation as the Nazis are set to take over and start WWII. Evie’s family is dirt poor—literally as they escaped the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma for California and are currently homeless. She’s there only to win gold in gymnastics so she can make money in Hollywood for her family afterwards, but when she fails to make the team, she’s offered another way to earn gold: pull off the biggest heist of the century by stealing gold from the Nazi bank. As Evie spends time on her secret side project, she realizes her eyes had been closed to what has been happening in Germany, makes new friends and decides to stand up for what’s right.
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This should be a movie. I’m not even kidding—one of the best MG historical fiction books I’ve ever read (are we surprised Alan wrote it? No lol) This had everything: tension, history, adventure, promoted empathy and eerily mirrors some of what is happening in the U.S. right now. “What I really didn’t understand was a country elected a man to be their leader after he led an insurrection to overthrow the government.” I see you, Alan. Be sure to read the Author’s Notes at the end. This masterpiece releases October 7 from @scholastic

CW: war (theme), persecution, concentration camps, antisemitism, racism, sterilization, homophobia, classism, theft, murder, death, death of a child, homelessness, poverty

Alan Gratz never disappoints. Middle grade and older elementary students are in for a treat with this latest novel.
Evie Harris, a gymnast, is selected to compete for the United States in the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. She becomes entangled in a complicated and muddled attempt to rob the Reichsbank, of Nazi gold.
What's especially noteworthy is the environment of the horror that was beginning to grip Nazi Germany with the burgeoning rise of Hitler to the forefront of government. He has the gift of explaining the historical context of the 1936 Olympics alongside the history of the American Dust Bowl in writing that can be easily understood by his readers. Beyond the historical aspects, he conveyed the hard work and dedication necessary to securing a spot in the Olympics.
Readers will be enthralled by the heroic measures and exciting happenings that will keep them on high alert throughout the book. Above all, the book points out what prejudice and and unchecked hatred can lead to.
A suspenseful story with excellent moral lessons!