Summer of my German soldier

by Bette Greene

Paper Book, 1999

Status

Available

Publication

New York : Puffin Books, 1999.

Description

When German prisoners of war are brought to her Arkansas town during World War II, twelve-year-old Patty, a Jewish girl, befriends one of them and must deal with the consequences of that friendship.

User reviews

LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Summer of my German Soldier by Bette Green is a short book telling the story of Patty Bergen, a young Jewish-American girl living in Aransas during World War II. The summer that she was twelve German prisoners of war are brought to a camp near her small town of Jenkinsville.

Patty meets one of
Show More
these prisoners when they are brought to her father’s store, and realizes that this young man is nothing like the fearful Nazi’s she has heard of, in fact, he was very nice to her. Being treated nicely is something Patty doesn’t have a lot of experience with as her self-absorbed mother is highly critical of her and her father is a short tempered, abusive man. Patty spends most of her young life trying to please her parents and get them to like her. When this young German escapes, Patty offers him food, shelter and clothing. While harbouring him, their friendship develops and Anton realizes he must move on, if only to keep Patty safe from the authorities. But it appears that she is doomed to be found out and finds herself having to face consequences that would break a weaker person.

The book, while detailing the friendship between Patty and Anton, really is much more about Patty developing her self-esteem and making plans for her future. Coming to the realization that nothing is ever going to change in her relationship with her parents, Patty must learn how to get through the next few years until she is old enough to move forward and establish her independence.

I found Summer of My German Soldier to be both heart-breaking and thought provoking. This is not a light story with a happy ending, but it is realistic and, thankfully, the reader is left with some hope for Patty’s future.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bell7
Patty Bergen is a twelve-year-old Jewish girl growing up in Jenkinsville, Arkansas during World War 2, the summer that German POWs are imprisoned right outside of town. She's a lonely girl who tries to be good so her parents will love her, but nothing she does seems to turn out right. Then, several
Show More
POWs come to her father's store, and she begins a friendship with one of them, a young man named Anton Reiker who speaks English and isn't really a Nazi at all.

I'm not really sure what I expected when I picked this book up, but I found the story surprising in many ways. The book was originally published in 1973, and I couldn't help but compare the way race was dealt with in this story versus [The Egypt Game], which was published in the 1960s. Patty's family is described as not having a lot of money, but Patty and her sister Sharon are looked after by a black woman, Rose, who lives in "Nigger Bottoms." I'm fairly sure that the use of the word "nigger" in this example and others was historically accurate, but I still found it jarring when I came across it. On the other hand, the people Patty loves most are Rose and Anton, a fact that's clearly not socially acceptable in the 1940s when the story is set. I was also surprised by the presence of child abuse, an issue I did not expect to see addressed in a children's book of its era. The age difference between Patty and Anton was a little shocking, and I dearly wanted an "Author's Note" at the end to explain whether or not some of the events could have (or did) happen, but no such luck. When I first started reading, I wasn't exactly taken by the story, but it grew on my as Patty herself, narrating the story started to grow on me too.
Show Less
LibraryThing member TheOnlyMe
I read this book when I was about 9 or 10 during a camping trip and I absolutely loved it. It has a bit of a romantic edge to it but nothing not suitable for children. It's historical fiction and definitely a great read for anyone interested in the stateside history of WWII. I also read the sequel
Show More
on a subsequent camping trip but the title eludes me. It wasn't as good as this novel but a worthy read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bnhays
This is a story of Patty Bergen who at 12 years old watches as German POW's are taken off a train to a prison camp. Anton, an escaped prisoner comes across her path and she hides him in her garage determined to keep him safe. Being a Jewish girl housing a Nazi prisoner she risks everything to keep
Show More
him a secret.

I love this books message of how easily one could look past bias if they wanted to.
Show Less
LibraryThing member CatieN
Patty is a 12-year-old Jewish girl living in Arkansas during World War II. Her parents own Bergen's department store in town. The summer in question, the U.S. opens a POW camp just outside of town, and through a series of events, Patty comes in close contact with one of the POWs from the camp,
Show More
which does not have a good outcome. Patty's relationship with her parents is very disturbing. Overall, a good book, but I was left somewhat unsatisfied by the ending.
Show Less
LibraryThing member EbbyC
I first read this book some years ago in middle school.It is still one of my favorites to this day.Very touching story.
LibraryThing member debnance
I just thought I was releasing this book at Project Graduation. Instead, the book somehow ended up coming home with me. I read it today. What a powerful story. A young girl, criticized and cruelly treated by her parents, meets a German POW, captured and held captive in a POW camp in Arkansas during
Show More
WWII. The POW escapes and the girl finds a way to bring him food and water and a safe place to stay. The characters felt intensely real to me and I felt deep compassion for the girl. This would be a great book for discussion.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BGarriock
Reread, probably first time I was too young, but on rereading still has impact and a sense of hope and survival at the end.
LibraryThing member carterchristian1
Chapter 20 is wonderful. The heroine examines alternatives for her future. These are exactly the questions that must be answered when a young person starts making his or her own decisions.
"All right, get to it, I told myself. This is finally going to be the morning when things come to me: My plans
Show More
for a lifetime."
Show Less
LibraryThing member Whisper1
A powerfully disturbing book set in a small, bigoted Arkansas town. Young twelve year old Patty is emotionally abused by both parents and physically abused by her father.

Set apart from others because her family is Jewish, and because she severely lacks stability and warmth, Patty struggles to
Show More
belong and to fit in. A kind hearted, intelligent person, her only friend is Ruth, the family maid who loves her unquestionably.

When the US government houses German prisoners in her town, Patti aids a young man who escapes, and in doing so she pays a tremendously high price.

I liked the writing; I liked the plot. I didn't like the dramatic images the author tended to freely disperse throughout.

Still, I recommend this book. It is well worth the time spent reading. The relationship between Ruth and Patty is beautiful and compelling.

The ending was abrupt and thus I'm glad to know there is a follow up book to this one.
Show Less
LibraryThing member klightwi
A love story for more advanced readers about a Jewish girl who falls for a German Prisoner of War who was fighting for the Holocaust. It also goes into how families are not perfect. I feel this will spark the interest of young tweens and teens searching for a romance book and those who are
Show More
searching for adventure.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mom2lnb
Summer of My German Soldier is a poignant coming-of-age story about a young Jewish girl from a small town in Arkansas who helps an escaped German POW, an act which changes her life forever. This short young adult novel is packed with philosophical lessons on human nature that make it very difficult
Show More
for me to describe, but suffice it to say that it is an amazing little book. I almost wish it had been longer, to give me more time to ponder its depths, but at the same time, it was nearly perfect at its current length. The ending, while not happy, did contain a grain of hope for Patty's future, and I couldn't help but think that it was ripe for a sequel. Imagine my delight, when I discovered that there is indeed one, Morning Is a Long Time Coming, which continues Patty's search for love and meaning in her life. In fact, I probably wouldn't have been able to give this book quite as high of a rating if it had simply ended where it did. That would have been almost cruel.

Patty is very sympathetic as the heroine and first-person narrator of the story. Simply being part of the only Jewish family in town makes her unusual, but she is also a girl with an adventurous spirit and a wild imagination for making up stories. Sometimes I didn't like the way she lied or embellished the truth, but as the story progresses, it becomes quite clear that she is absolutely starving for love and attention from parents who not only criticize and ignore her, but her father is also physically abusive. Sometimes her imagination takes her to admirable places such as dreaming about what it would be like to have her father say he loves and respects her and apologize for all the terrible things he's done to her which was heartbreaking. I thoroughly enjoyed Patty's love of books and words and how she teaches herself a new word from the dictionary every day. At first I thought it rather naïve of Patty to be helping an escaped POW whom she had only met once, but I think that she simply had an open-mindedness and an intuitive sense about the character of the people around her. In this and other ways, she often seemed much older than her mere twelve years, but some occasional careless mistakes and comments (usually brought about by that insatiable need for affection) belied her callow youth. Overall, I thought Patty was very brave to risk literally everything, possibly even her own life, to help a fellow human being in need, and most of all, she was an incredibly strong girl to survive all the hardships that were placed upon her young shoulders.

The two characters who care the most about Patty and have the most influence on her life are Anton, the POW she helps, and her family's housekeeper, Ruth. Anton is a very polite, gentle young man with a very reflective, perhaps even philosophical bent. He truly seems to care about others and had planned on becoming a doctor before the war started. No details on how he ended up in the SS army are given, and I found myself wondering if he was perhaps coerced as he definitely was not a true Nazi. Anton showed his kindness and understanding of Patty when he gave her the most precious gift of all, that of self-worth. In some ways, I wish that the reader was able to get to know Anton more, but it probably would have made later events in the story all the more harder to take. The only other person who truly understands Patty is her African-American housekeeper. Ruth is such a sweet, gentle lady who is nothing but kind and good to Patty. She is a healthy role model and a beacon of light in what would otherwise be a pretty dark world for her.

More than 35 years after its initial publication, Summer of My German Soldier can still be found in the top 100 titles on the American Library Association's list of most banned/challenged books of the past decade. The book does contain a number of mature themes: profanities are used, both a handful of mild ones as well as Patty's father taking the Lord's name in vain several times, but it does fit with his character being an extremely unhappy, violent man; Patty's father brutally abuses her on more than one occasion, but it isn't rendered in a particularly graphic way; on two occasions, Patty's father makes the incorrect assumption that she had sexual contact with a man, but again it is presented in a subtle rather than overt way; there are a number of racial slurs against blacks and Asians which would have been consistent with the time period and setting; Patty briefly wonders when her body will mature and prays to get her “womanly curves”; there are a couple of characters who smoke and the family enjoys some wine with a special dinner, which includes Patty receiving one glass of her own. While I can see how these things might be of concern to some people, I didn't feel that anything was over the top or would be wholly inappropriate for teenagers. I might have some concerns about children younger than middle-school age reading it, although not so much because of the content, but more so because there are many complex elements that might be difficult for them to comprehend. However, with a parent or educator guiding them through the reading they may be OK depending on their maturity level. In general though, I think it is a wonderful book, and it would be a shame to take it out of our youth's hands.

No matter the age of the reader, there are many positive things to be gleaned from this book's pages. There are some solid lessons in tolerance, open-mindedness, and showing care and concern for others who may be in need either physically or emotionally. There was also a wonderful message about how our differences truly don't matter when it comes to love and friendship. Summer of My German Soldier has a strong historical element. In doing some research on the author, I discovered that the story is partially autobiographical as Bette Green's life in many ways mirrored Patty's. I even learned a couple of things I didn't know about POWs being housed on U.S. soil and German U-Boats actually reaching our shores during the war. It was interesting as well how the attitudes of some people were not that much different than those of today, a sure sign that while some things may change others stay the same. Summer of My German Soldier started off a little slow, but it didn't take long for me to be hooked and wondering what would happen next. Overall, I thought it was a great little story. It's not the type that will leave the reader with warm fuzzy feelings, but it is one that can impart some deep food for thought to readers of all ages. I know I'm going to be thinking about it for a while to come. It's a definite keeper for me, and I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the sequel to see if Patty finally finds all that she's been searching for.
Show Less
LibraryThing member aimless22
Read this as a kid and did not remember the whole story, so decided to read it again as an adult. The lead character, Patty Bergen, at twelve years old is younger than I recalled. But her memorable summer with Anton, the German POW escapee, is as important to her as the air she breathes. Her love
Show More
for those who respect her is immeasurable. I just learned that Ms. Greene wrote a sequel to this award-winning novel called Morning is a Long Time Coming. Don't remember reading that either. I will seek it out and read it to see where life takes Patty.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Stewartry
We never read Summer of My German Soldier in class (honestly, what did we read?), nor have I seen the movie, so this Open Road edition from Netgalley was brand new to me. I hadn't realized the main character and narrator of the story, Patty, was so young (12); my first assumption was that she was
Show More
old enough for this to be a more common sort of love story.

It's not what I was anticipating, but despite her youth, it is a love story, of a sort, or of several sorts. It involves Patty's love for her sister, against all odds: it would have been less surprising to me if she had loathed Sharon for being the apple of their parents' eyes by simply existing. (What were the first five years of Patty's life, pre-Sharon, like, I wonder?) Patty's love for - or desire to love - her parents, against even greater odds. The housekeeper/nanny Ruth's genuine affection for Patty, and her staunch position on Patty's side no matter what. Anton Reiker, the German Soldier, is part of that facet; his point of view is not only as a grateful recipient of her help but as someone who sees what the rest of her life is doing to her. His and Ruth's interaction with Patty reminded me of Aibilene from The Help, constantly telling the browbeaten little girl "You is kind, you is smart, you is good..." - trying desperately to counteract the inevitable result of the horrible combination of intentional and unintentional abuse by the parents. Trying to provide a life raft in a sea of self-hatred.

There is, to be honest, a lot not to like about Patty, at first glance - which is what makes her a compelling character. She - a Jewish girl - decides to aid an escaped German POW purely based on the fact that he was friendly to her, was attractive, and spoke excellent English, and that she was instantly infatuated with him (without really knowing how to express that, even to herself); for all she knew, actually knew, he could have been the deepest-dyed Nazi there ever was. A sheltered and affection-starved twelve-year old isn't exactly the judge of character I'd want to rely on in this situation. In fact, from the little bit I know about Nazi espionage techniques, Reiker is the sort of man most prized by the SS: able to speak unaccented English, plausible and friendly-seeming... My hair stood on end a bit thinking about it. She could have caused unspeakable damage with one thoughtless act.

Also, of course, her constant lies are off-putting, and a little alarming, but in the context of her pitiable desperation to do something, anything to finally reach her parents' hearts they make sense. It seems to be an almost instinctual response to almost any situation – one which, hopefully, she can outgrow.

The introduction - exclusive to the Open Road edition, I think - talks about Bette Greene's parents' reaction to the book. "Couldn't you at least have waited till we were dead?" She apparently either evaded the question or denied outright that she and Patty were one and the same; however, her parents evidently recognized enough of themselves in the narrative to be defensive and outraged. They weren't brought to shame about their behavior, but were instead - as always - put out with their daughter that she had not had more consideration for them. I've encountered Eeeevil Parents in a couple of books lately, and sighed over them, wanting more depth to make them realistic … in Patty's parents the lack of depth is partly down to the story being told by a twelve-year-old. She had no way of knowing any kind of motivation for how they treated her, no way to fathom the psychology. She doesn't look for excuses for them - she simply shoulders the responsibility for it (she's not a good person) and tries to make amends. It's horrifying.

Looking over what I've written I see variations on the word "desperate" popping up. And for a brief book written in a fairly light tone, centered around the suburban life of a twelve-year-old merchant's daughter in 20th century Alabama, there is a wrenching amount of desperation running all through it. Reiker does not escape because he wants to meet up with saboteurs (we hope), but because the confinement was pressing upon him, and he needed freedom. Ruth is, on surface, what the Scots call sonsy; she is the mammy archetype of the middle-aged black servant who actually looks after the white folks' children - but at least one of these white folks' children is in a bad way, and she has a son of her own who is at hazard. Hers is, too, the constant worry of her race and position in her time and place. Patty sees her mother as the consummate salesperson, able to sell ice to an Eskimo, but the little scene we are shown (of a poor farmer's wife being cozened into buying not only the dress she was looking at but an ugly hat as well) is almost heartbreaking in its sordidness: the mother's eagerness to wring another dollar out of someone who can't afford it but who is almost as thirsty for praise as Patty; the false praise being heaped on this stranger when Patty would, literally, do anything for a kind word.

Love and desperation. It packs a punch that surprised me, this little book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Crewman_Number_6
This will always be one of my favorites from childhood. I have read it several times and never grow tired of it.
LibraryThing member kathleen586
This is book is very well-written and I felt like I was really there with Patty. The story is heartbreaking because Patty is so desperate for any sign of affection from her parents, and they don't really love her. This book affected me the way Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim did—I'm very glad I read
Show More
it but it makes me want to cry knowing there are actual people who are treated the way Patty and (and Lucy in Vera) are treated.
Show Less
LibraryThing member vroussel
This book tells the story of one eventful summer in the life of 12-year-old Patty Bergen, a young Jewish girl living in a podunk town in Arkansas where the United States government has decided to set up a Nazi POW camp. Patty spends most of her days avoiding physical abuse from her father and
Show More
verbal abuse from her mother; the only person she shows a close connection with is the family's housekeeper Ruth. But all that changes when Anton, a prisoner in the nearby camp, barrels into her life by way of a successful escape. Not only does this story show the transformation of Patty from a reckless girl with low self-esteem into a thoughtful girl with confidence, but the story also sheds light on the issues of prejudice during the 1940's in America.

I remember really enjoying reading this book as an adolescent, but couldn't remember how the book ended. After reading it again as an adult, I can see why my younger self might have forgotten this story; there are a lot of gaps. As the reader, we never quite understand why Patty's mom and dad take such umbrage at her mere existence; is she an illegitimate child? Has she done something in the past to warrant this anger? Why is Sharon (her younger sister) so doted over? Also, what was up with that ending? In an attempt not to spoil the book, let's leave it at the fact that the ending is not what I was expecting. While I realize that there's a sequel, my understanding is that most people read just this book and never make it to the second part. A large part of me wishes that Bette Greene had ended the book before Patty leaves Arkansas, that way the two books could stand on their own. Overall, though, I did enjoy this book. While I feel like there are better options for introducing students to the ideas of self-esteem, prejudice, and family, this book might be suitable for a student that you know may be having their own forms of family trouble at home; they might be able to relate to Patty the way some other students might not. Definitely a book worth having in a teacher's repertoire.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Krumbs
I loved this book. Ok, I was about 12 when I read it, but still. It was enough to hold my attention for an hour or so.
LibraryThing member Castlelass
Young adult coming of age story set during WWII. Twelve-year-old Patty Bergen lives in the small town of Jenkinsville, Arkansas, where a Prisoner of War camp has been built. She lives with her distant mother, physically abusive father, and younger sister. Her father runs the local General Store.
Show More
German POWs are brought into the store one day to buy hats. One of the prisoners, Anton Reiker, speaks English and translates for the others. Patty assists him in obtaining merchandise. She finds him extremely polite and handsome and develops a crush on him. When Reiker escapes, Patty helps him hide from the authorities, leading to all sorts of trouble for both of them.

I had heard of this book for a long time but had somehow missed reading it. It was published in 1973. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Patty and her black maid, Ruth, the only person she could call a friend. This story provides a good example of prejudice in many forms, including anti-Semitism, the extreme anti-German sentiments of the time (everyone is assumed to be a Nazi regardless of their personal views), and racism. I think it is appropriate for age twelve and up (the child abuse is pretty severe).
Show Less
LibraryThing member kslade
Good story of a young Jewish girl who helped a German POW in America during WW II. I read it after seeing the TV movie in the late '70s I think. Makes you think about people and hatred for no good reasons except for a war.
LibraryThing member a-shelf-apart
Much more emotional and physical child abuse than I was expecting.
LibraryThing member almin
I need to reread this book, I remember reading in high school and how I liked it but I don't think I really appreciated it.
LibraryThing member amyghilton
One of my favorite required readings.
LibraryThing member fingerpost
12 year old Jewish girl Patty lives in a loveless home with a mother who neglects her and a physically abusive father. When she is in the family store in Arkansas one afternoon during the summer, a group of German POWs are brought in to buy hats. But the German prisoner, Anton Reiker, who acts as a
Show More
translator, who has perfect English, wants pencils and paper. Patty helps him, and completely falls for his kindness and courtesy.

Soon afterwards, Reiker escapes from the prison. Patty chances to see him running, and hides him in a hidden attic space over her family's garage. They develop a bond over the course of a few days before, mainly for Patty's safety, Anton runs away again.

The final third of the book deals with the consequences Patty faces when her act of helping the prisoner is discovered.
Show Less
LibraryThing member thornton37814
Patty Bergen is a young Jewish girl growing up in northeastern Arkansas. Her town is the site of a German POW camp during World War II. Her first encounter with the Germans is in her father's store. She befriends a German soldier in a community filled with prejudice. She realizes that he hates the
Show More
Nazis just as much as those in the community do. This book was difficult to read, not because of the Nazi element but because of the physical and verbal abuse meted out by Patty's father. One cannot help but sympathize with Patty. I won't reveal too much of the story here so that readers may discover the plot for themselves.
Show Less

Language

Original publication date

1973

Physical description

230 p.; 18 cm

ISBN

9780141306360

Local notes

young readers
Page: 0.5562 seconds