Gidwitz, Adam. Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II. Operation Kinderspion; bk. 1. Penguin/Dutton, 02/2024. 336pp. Fiction. Trade $18.99. 978-0-593-11208-3. GRADES 4–7. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
Max knows that his parents just want to keep him safe, but the eleven-year-old Jewish boy yearns to return home after being sent from Nazi Germany to England during WWII. Adding to Max’s distress, two tiny, immortal, mischief-making creatures—a dybbuk and a kobold—have taken up residence on his shoulders, and only he can see and hear them. Smart and resourceful, Max comes up with unique ways to deal with his many challenges, including the vicious anti-Semitism he experiences at his new school. The second half of the book morphs into an exciting but unlikely spy story as Max trains to become Britain’s youngest undercover agent on the ground in Berlin. The ambitious melding of genres (historical fiction, fantasy, and spy fiction) adds a frenetic energy to the narrative, leaving many intriguing details and a cliff-hanger to be resolved in book two of the duology. End notes include information related to the imagined and realistic parts of the story, as well as annotated source notes.
Jenny Andrus—Independent