1 My Secret War : The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck

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Spaghetti Book Club - Book Reviews by Kids for Kids

My Secret War : The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck

Written by Mary Pope Osborne


Reviewed by Megan S. (age 12)

This book is about World War II and hardships people endured. This book is also about a young girl who meets a young boy and they form a really good friendship. They find out that they have a lot in common. This book shows how lives were changed not only for Americans but for Germans during WWII. This book takes place on Long Island, New York in 1941.The girl's name is Madeline Beck. Madeline keeps a diary of WWII. This book is called My Secret War because Madeline is watching the war and writing what she sees in her diary which is a secret. She is watching the Germans load their guns and other weapons onto the u-boats. Madeline gets caught by Germans but they said they were Coast Guards they told her not to tell or they would arrest her.

I liked this book because it gave you a good view or idea of what WWII was like, and how they lived back then. My favorite part of the book was when Madeline and Benjamin meet and they talk forever. I liked Madeline because she keeps a diary of WWII, but it is actually her own little war. I think the book was unique because I have never read about a war written in a twelve year-olds own words.

I recommend the book to girls about 12 years old who keep diaries so they could see what it was like to write and keep diaries back then during the late 1930s and early 1940s. I think the part that the girls might like is when Madeline and Benjamin meet and talk all day. Some boys might like this book too because of the war going on and a lot of boys I know like war stories.