Westfallen by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

It's time for a little history, but with the excitement of an alternate world. Today's read comes from a bestselling author and heads back to WWII. Sort of. Instead of traveling back in time, these characters talk to someone through a radio and accidentally change something by doing so. I'm curious how the author handles this, since this does open some interesting 'what if 's. More importantly, I hope it's accessible to middle graders, since WWII isn't always embraced by this age group.

But let's take a look!

WESTFALLEN

by Ann Brashares and

Ben Brashares

Simon & Schuster

Middle Grade Time Travel   /   Historical

384 pages

ages 8 to 12

COMING...

SEPTEMBER 17th!!!

From #1 New York Times bestselling Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author Ann Brashares and her brother Ben Brashares comes an action-packed middle grade alternate history thriller that asks what it would be like to wake up in present-day America if Germany had won World War II.

Henry, Frances, and Lukas are neighbors, and they used to be best friends. But in middle school, things can change fast—Frances has become an emo art-girl, Lukas has gone full sports bro, and Henry has gone sort of nowhere. But when a dead gerbil brings them together again, the three ex-friends make an impossible discovery: a radio buried in Henry’s backyard that allows them to talk to another group of kids in the same town…on the same street…in the same backyard…seventy-nine years in the past.

The kids in 1944 want to know all about the future: are there jetpacks? Laser guns? Teleportation? Most of all, they want to know about the outcome of the war their dads and brothers are fighting in. Henry and his friends are cautious—they’ve all seen movies about what happens when you disrupt the fabric of time—but figure there’s no harm in telling them a little bit, just enough so they can stop worrying so much. And, at first, everything seems fine. Nothing’s changed—well, nothing so big they can’t contain it, anyway.

Until Henry, Frances, and Lukas wake up on May 6, 2024, to an America ruled by Nazis. They changed history. And now it’s up to them to change it back.

GOODREADS   /    PUBLISHER

MY TIDBITS

Tension runs high as reality changes overnight to leave three friends unsure if they can ever return to life as they knew it.

The gerbil is dead, which isn't a huge event in itself, but to 'honor' the class-pet, Henry decides to invite his once, two best friends to a mini-funeral. Surprisingly, the two show up. While they help him dig the grave, they hit an old, buried radio. Not only does it work, but they find themselves conversing with three kids from 1944, who are worried about the raging WWII. A type of friendship forms between the six kids, but they soon notice that even the smallest thing can change history in huge ways. Even something as simple as purchasing a candy bar sets off a string of events, which no one could have seen coming.

This read grabs so much more than I thought it would. Starting with the death of a gerbil, it draws in with bitter-sweet heart and immediately gains sympathy as Henry reaches out to two once best friends, which have drifted away on their own paths. The curious discovery of the radio doesn't set things off right away, but expertly lures in as the fantastical side has a chance to gain footing and the world of 1944 with Alice and her friends gets needed depth. And it does this while keeping the pacing pretty high the entire way through. Switching between Henry and Alice, the two-sides of the tale come to life and the tension becomes double as the intertwined tales run parallel to each other. It's easy to root for both and wonder how each group will make it through their very different yet dangerous situations.

WWII doesn't hit with tons of details and facts, but rather, gives just enough to make life during the period clear while working in some historical tidbits along the way. There are one or two small inconsistencies with the time period, but mostly, it does a lovely job at bringing 1944 across in a way readers can identify with and understand.  The author also does a good job at opening up to further thought. The Butterfly Effect comes across clearly and propels the plot forward in a thought-grabbing way. It opens up the door of what-ifs and does get those brain gears turning. There are some open questions surrounding some characters, and the affects of some changes in 1944 aren't completely wrapped up. But then, judging by the ending, there is going to be a book two, and I'm curious to see where that will lead.

This is an unique and fun twist to time travel, which offers quite a bit of tension while bringing in some historical goodness. 

And here they are...

Ann Brashares is a writer and mother of four living in New York City. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series as well as several other novels. Before becoming a writer, she was a student of philosophy, a receptionist, an editor, a ghostwriter, and, briefly, the copresident of a small media company. She grew up in Washington, DC, with her three brothers and a stunning number of weird pets. She helped her youngest brother, Ben, with his shoes (and the debilitating lumps in his socks) every morning before school until he learned to tie his own shoes…around eighth grade. 

Ben Brashares lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with his wife and three children. He’s the author of Being Edie Is Hard Today and The Great Whipplethorp Bug Collection. He holds an MFA in creative writing and has worked at and written for several magazines, including Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, and Entertainment Weekly. He spent much of his youth wading through heaps of clothes in his big sister’s room looking for the family’s escape-artist tarantula, Fredricka…to put on his sister’s head while she slept. As an adult, Ben gets no help whatsoever tying his shoes. But he still has weird pets. And he still gets lumps in his socks.