(2) YA In this novel in verse set in 1989, sixteen-year-old Helena lives in Leipzig, East Germany, during a period of oppression when citizens inform on their neighbors. But times are changing, and peaceful protests against the government are gaining momentum. Helena finds solace in music and begins to fall in love with a fellow piano student, but she's pressured to spy on him and reluctantly reveals his plans to escape. As weekly peace prayers at the Saint Nicholas Church turn into a massive march, Helena chooses to confront her betrayal and her fears, and act: "There comes a time / when every voice / must cry out, a time // when every person must lean / into their fear, spread their wings / and rise up. // That time / is now." Green conveys Helena's anxieties and hopes in equal measure in lyrical free-verse passages that flow together like a musical composition. She balances discussion of the political upheaval of the time just prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall with a sensitive exploration of Helena's personal struggles and emotional growth. An author's note with historical background, a glossary, and selected sources are appended.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(1) YA An engrossing look at the emerging new world order after World War II, told through the experiences of one fractured German family living in 1961 Berlin. Stamper begins with a flashback to 1945, with teenage couple Rudolf and Ilse, numb from the soul-crushing brutality of war, learning they are expecting twins. Anxious about their future in the newly partitioned country, they settle in the Soviet sector and scramble to support their family. Their fraternal twin boys grow up in the fledgling Soviet-controlled German Democratic Republic, which touts itself as pro-worker and anti-fascist. Rudi is dutiful and well behaved, with the inquisitive eye of a photographer and a tendency to brood; Peter is the golden boy--smart, talented, a committed optimist--who longs to be an actor. Things come to a head in the summer of 1961 when their parents suddenly split up and the fifteen-year-olds find themselves living in different sectors and reassessing everything they've been taught to believe. The overnight erection of a wall around the entire Western part of the city halts the ability of citizens to move freely throughout the area. Stamper (What the Night Sings, rev. 5/18) explains the complex geopolitical and ideological landscapes in a teen-friendly manner and helps readers gain perspective via the boys' alternating chapters as they come of age and gain individual agency. Vivid descriptions bring the city to life and are enhanced by the author's haunting, multilayered grayscale paintings. There are powerful messages here about postwar trauma and the generational consequences of burying the past. An excellent, nuanced piece of historical fiction.

Reviewer: Luann Toth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022