Max in the house of spies / Adam Gidwitz.

Title :

Max in the house of spies

Author:

Format:

Books

Summary:

"To find his way back home to his family in Germany during WWII, Max Bretzfeld, with a kobold named Berg on one shoulder and a dybbuk named Stein on the other, sets out to do the impossible--become a British spy"--

Language:

English

ISBN - ISSN:

9780593112083

0593112083

Physical Description:

320 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.

General Note:

"A tale of World War II"--Dust jacket.

Subject:

Kindertransports (Rescue operations) -- Juvenile fiction.

Jewish refugees -- Great Britain -- Juvenile fiction.

Spirits -- Juvenile fiction.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Juvenile fiction.

Kindertransports (Rescue operations) -- Fiction.

Jews -- England -- Fiction.

Spies -- Fiction.

Spirits -- Fiction.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Fiction.

Berlin (Germany) -- Juvenile fiction.

Germany -- History -- 1933-1945 -- Juvenile fiction.

Berlin (Germany) -- Fiction.

Germany -- History -- 1933-1945 -- Fiction.

Historical fiction.

Spy fiction.

Novels.

Series:

Operation kinderspion ;

First Title value, for Searching:

Max in the house of spies / Adam Gidwitz.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Library	Audience	Home Location	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Bracewell	Kid/Juvenile	Fiction	New juvenile books	GIDWI	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Central	Kid/Juvenile	Fiction	New juvenile books	GIDWI	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Collier	Kid/Juvenile	Fiction	New juvenile books	GIDWI	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hillendahl	Kid/Juvenile	Fiction	New juvenile books	GIDWI	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Looscan	Kid/Juvenile	Fiction	New juvenile books	GIDWI	Searching... Unknown
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Summary

An instant New York Times bestseller!

" Max in the House of Spies is everything you could hope for in a book," -R. J. Palacio, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wonder, White Bird, and Pony

"Espionage! Secrets! Suspense! If you've ever dreamed of being a spy, this book is for you." -Alan Gratz, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee and Projekt 1065

Max Bretzfeld doesn't want to move to London.

Leaving home is hard and Max is alone for the first time in his life. But not for long. Max is surprised to discover that he's been joined by two unexpected traveling companions, one on each shoulder, a kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein.

Germany is becoming more and more dangerous for Jewish families, but Max is determined to find a way back home, and back to his parents. He has a plan to return to Berlin. It merely involves accomplishing the impossible- becoming a British spy.

The first book in a duology, Max in the House of Spies is a thought-provoking World War II story as only acclaimed storyteller Adam Gidwitz can tell it-fast-paced and hilarious, with a dash of magic and a lot of heart.

Author Notes

Adam Gidwitz was born in San Francisco, California in 1982. He received a bachelor's degree in English literature from Columbia University. After graduating, he took a job in a second grade classroom at Saint Ann's School, in Brooklyn and attended Bank Street College of Education in the evenings. He eventually taught first, second, fifth, and high school at Saint Ann's before deciding to become a full-time author. He is the author of A Tale Dark and Grimm and In a Glass Grimly.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (5)

Publisher's Weekly Review

After Kristallnacht, things continue getting worse for German Jews, prompting the parents of highly intelligent 11-year-old Max Bretzfeld to send him to England via the Kindertransport. Though Max doesn't want to go--especially because he often feels as if he's the only one looking out for his meek parents--they insist. Max ends up living with the Montagus, an aristocratic family of British Jews, and he did not arrive alone. He's joined by two invisible companions: a dybbuk, or Jewish evil spirit, on one shoulder and a kobold, or German folk spirit, on the other. When Max realizes that one of the Montagus is a British spy, he endeavors to become one as well, believing it to be the quickest way to return to Berlin to search for his parents. Gidwitz (the Unicorn Rescue Society series) imbues Max's first-person voice with plentiful charm and intellect, making him an irresistible and irrepressible protagonist even his otherworldly tormentors can't help but grow fond of. The compelling plot, which occasionally stretches credulity, boasts an exciting mixture of triumphs and perils, leading up to a cliffhanger ending that will have readers clamoring for the sequel. Ages 8--12. Agent: Sarah Burnes, Gernert Company. (Feb.)

Horn Book Review

From the moment eleven-year-old Max Bretzfeld arrives in England as a Jewish evacuee from WWII Germany (accompanied by two immortal, opinionated, and invisible-to-others creatures, a kobold and a dybbuk), his overriding desire is to return to Berlin. The preternaturally clever, resourceful Max has always protected his gentle parents, practiced as he is at anticipating the actions of bullies and staying ahead of their next moves. Who now will protect his parents from the Nazis? When he realizes that one of the men in his Jewish foster family works for British Naval Intelligence, he resolves to find a way to use that connection to be accepted as an undercover agent and sent back to Germany. Clearly, Gidwitz's (The Inquisitor's Tale, rev. 11/16) story calls for a great deal of suspension of disbelief, but the unlikely and fantastical elements are balanced by a rich and realistic depiction of WWII London, from the snobbery of life at an elite boys' school (including entrenched antisemitism) to the Blitz. Max's training as a spy is described in riveting detail, with readers rooting for the determined boy even as we know the dangers awaiting him if he passes the test. A cliffhanger ending (a sequel is promised) adds even more tension. An author's note gives more background on the historical and folkloric figures, settings, and events of the novel; an annotated bibliography is appended. Martha V. ParravanoMarch/April 2024 p.89 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

What if the Holocaust hadn't happened? What if someone had stopped it sooner? What if that someone was . . . a child? In 1939, Max Bretzfeld, a savvy 11-year-old with a penchant for radios, begrudgingly leaves his parents in Berlin as danger escalates there for German Jewish families like his. With a mischief-making kobold that appears on one shoulder and a dybbuk on the other, Max adjusts to life in London with his affluent Jewish foster family, who, thanks to connections in the British intelligence community, reluctantly help Max train to return home to infiltrate Nazi ranks as a spy. Clever Max plays the long game with determination, and his agency is refreshing. While humorous and Holocaust story aren't descriptors typically combined (unless you're Taika Waititi), those familiar with the mordant wit of Gidwitz's Newbery Honor Book and Sydney Taylor Book Award winner The Inquisitor's Tale (2016) will appreciate Gidwitz's steady gift for finding moments of levity in horrendously dark situations. This first story of the Operation Kinderspion duology ends with Max in a white-knuckle situation, and the pre-WWII tale should read well alongside adventurous youth-resistance stories like Margi Preus' Shadow on the Mountain (2012) and Shirley Hughes' Hero on a Bicycle (2013). This heartfelt historical novel explores big questions of autonomy and allegiance with an admirable protagonist readers will respect and adore.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 3--7--Gidwitz's latest is absolutely everything a reader could want in a World War II spy novel. Max is sent away from Berlin by his Jewish parents at the brink of WWII. Alone and scared, Max finds himself accompanied by two immortal and incorporeal creatures, a dybbuk and a kobold. Named Stein and Berg, these two offer comedic insights and observations in classic Gidwitz style, with sarcasm and wit in equal measure. Max must engage his full mental capacities to survive anti-Semitic bullies. He then must work his way into training to become the youngest spy for Britain, all in hopes of getting sent back to Berlin to be reunited with his parents. Brilliant, funny, and full of twists and turns that engage both the heart and the mind, this novel will have readers clamoring for the follow-up in the duology. Newbery Honoree Gidwitz is at the top of his form using humor, fantastical creatures, and in-depth research to bring this story zestfully to life. VERDICT Highly recommended for all collections serving middle grade and older readers who enjoy smartly written historical novels.--John Scott

Kirkus Review

A determined refugee will do whatever it takes to get back to his parents--even becoming a British spy in Nazi Germany. When 11-year-old Max Bretzfeld, a Jewish boy from Berlin, is sent to England on the Kindertransport in 1939, he's accompanied by two tiny men on his shoulders whom only he can see. The German kobold and Jewish dybbuk rarely interact with Max, but they comically comment on his circumstances. And such circumstances! After a working-class upbringing, he's fostered in England by Jewish baron Lord Montagu. Most of the white non-Jewish people Max encounters are shudderingly classist, racist, and antisemitic, but after a childhood in Nazi Germany, this is hardly new. Nonetheless, he'll do anything to get back to his parents, and thus, Max sets out to become a spy. While it may be hard to convince British intelligence to send him back to Germany, Max will do whatever it takes. Despite the compelling premise and likable characters, readers will have to wait for the sequel for a payoff. After a strong start, the kobold and dybbuk are relegated to the roles of Greek chorus, and the story's fascination with the real-life people who inspired the secondary characters is such that various questions concerning them are intriguing but remain unresolved in this volume. Nonetheless, this book--packed with sideways thinking, sociopolitical insights, and a Marmite-eating kangaroo named Kathy--delights. A duology opener with a truly likable hero and clever puzzling. (historical note, annotated bibliography) (Historical fiction. 8-11) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Excerpts

Once there was a boy who had two immortal creatures living on his shoulders. This was the fourth most interesting thing about him. The first most interesting thing about Max--that was his name--was that he was a genius. He could make a working radio from the junk at the bottom of a trash can, and he could usually predict what someone was going to say ten minutes before they said it. The second most interesting thing about Max was that, when he was eleven years old, his parents sent him away from Germany, where he was born and grew up, to England. All by himself. Even though he'd never been there, didn't know anyone there, and barely spoke any English. The third most interesting thing about Max was that, when he got to England, he fell in with spies. Real, honest-to-goodness spies. A lot of them. And the fourth most interesting thing about him was that he had two immortal creatures living on his shoulders. But that's probably what you have the most questions about, so let's start there. The two immortal creatures appeared the day his parents sent him to England. His family had been arguing about it for weeks. Their small Berlin apartment shook as Max had stomped from the living room to his bedroom to the kitchen and back again, shouting things like: "You can't make me go!" "Everything is fine ! Who cares about the stupid Nazis?! They don't matter!" "What if you need me?!" And, more quietly, alone in his room, " What if I need you ? " But no matter what Max said, his parents had refused to change their minds. His mother had held him at the train station against her soft stomach, while his small, thin father had stroked Max's hair. They'd waved as the train pulled out, taking Max and the 198 other Jewish children to Holland and the ferry. Max hadn't waved back. He'd just stared at them and thought, How could you do this? Excerpted from Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.