The advent of the Wall Heidi's thirteenth birthday is coming up, but she's disappointed -- her mother is pregnant and refuses to make the annual summer visit to Heidi's grandmother. What's more, it's 1961 and the government is cracking down on border crossers, people who work in the West but live in the East. Heidi's father is a border crosser, and her best friend, Petra, has been forbidden to see Heidi until her father finds a new job in East Berlin. Heidi feels betrayed. Then, as political tension mounts, her parents tell her they are secretly moving West, and Heidi must travel alone to get her grandmother. But how can she do it without Petra's help? The author captures all the terror of the time in her gripping story of an indomitable heroine who steals across the Berlin border by facing her greatest fear. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 4-7-It is 1961, and Heidi's 13th summer is filled with disappointments. First her parents cancel their annual trip to her beloved grandmother's farm because Mutter is about to give birth. Then Heidi's father is labeled a "border crosser" because he continues to travel from East Berlin to work in West Berlin. This causes a threat of eviction from their apartment and the loss of her best friend. When an opportunity to defect to the West arises, the only thing standing in the way of her freedom and new life is the Teltow Canal and Heidi's haunting fear of the water. Dahlberg presents a realistic portrayal of the formal separation of East and West Germany and the building of the Berlin Wall. Cultural lessons and German dialect are smoothly incorporated into the narrative. The climax is well timed and, though somewhat obvious, holds readers' attention. Youngsters will also relate to Heidi's emotional struggle with maturity, where episodes of clinging and pouting are intermingled with the desire to be treated like an adult and to be given more independence.-Kimberly Monaghan, formerly at Vernon Area Public Library, IL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 5-8. In this novel set just before the construction of the Berlin Wall, 13-year-old Heidi and her family undertake a risky journey from East Berlin to the city's western sector. East Germany has become increasingly intolerant of citizens thought to embrace capitalist values, and Heidi's dad, who works in West Berlin and wants to keep his well-paying, satisfying job, faces stiff opposition from officials and neighbors who toe the party line. In utmost secrecy, the Klenks plot an escape that becomes more dangerous every day. Her mother and father slip across first, and Heidi and her grandmother plan to follow. Then the government suddenly closes the border. A bit of heavy-handed melodrama ensues as Oma makes it through an unguarded gap, but Heidi is stuck on the barbed wire--literally!--and must make a second attempt via a daring alternate route. Dahlberg's clear desire to convey information about the historical period sometimes slows things down, but she does a good job of weaving a suspenseful plot alongside the details of the cold war. --Anne O'Malley Copyright 2004 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.