Summer of My German Soldier

The summer that Patty Bergen turns twelve is a summer that will haunt her forever. When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp housing German prisoners during World War II, Patty learns what it means to open her heart. Even though she's Jewish, she begins to see a prison escapee, Anton, not as a Nazi, but as a lonely, frightened young man. As their gentle friendship blossoms, Patty experiences a kind of love she never felt from her abusive father or her distant mother. Soon Patty must weigh the cost of harboring a Nazi prisoner-the possibility of losing family, friends, and even her freedom-against the beauty of this dangerous but unforgettable friendship. Based on the author's own painful experiences growing up in Arkansas during World War II.

This superbly moving sequel reveals what happens when 18-year-old Patty Bergen leaves her Southern Bible-belt town for Paris. In a tender love affair with a Frenchman, she begins to overcome the abuse that ruined her childhood-and to understand her conflicting feelings of joy and anger.