McCormick, Patricia. Plot to Kill Hitler, The. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero. Non-fiction. Balzer & Bray, 09/2016. 174pp. $18.99. 978-0-06-241108-2. OUTSTANDING. GRADES 5-12.
The youngest boy in a large, vivacious and talented family, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an introspective dreamer; when he decided to become a pacifist pastor, he seemed destined for a quiet life. But as Hitler rose to power and began persecuting Jewish citizens, Bonhoeffer refused to stand quietly by. In lucid and dynamic prose, McCormick follows Bonhoeffer’s moral and physical struggle as he fought to do what was right and necessary to defeat evil. Original scholarship establishes Bonhoeffer as the first to notify the West of the Holocaust and places him at the center of several plots to kill Hitler. His influence on the American civil rights movement and the South African anti-apartheid movement is noted. Hand this to fans of Steve Sheinkin, war buffs, and those interested in social justice. A helpful cast of characters is provided and extensive back matter includes a timeline, end-notes, a selected bibliography, and an index.
Melissa McAvoy, Live Oak School