Max in the House of Spies (Operation Kinderspion): A Tale of World War II - Hardcover

Gidwitz, Adam

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593112083 ISBN 13: 9780593112083

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2024

Synopsis

An acclaimed Best Book of 2024!

Instant New York Times bestseller • Wall Street Journal Best Books of the Year • Booklist Editors’ Choice • Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year • School Library Journal Best Books of the Year • Common Sense Best Books of the Year • Imagination Soup Best Books of the Year • Tablet Magazine Best Books of the Year

“Max in the House of Spies is everything you could hope for in a book,” -R. J. Palacio, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wonder, White Bird, and Pony

“Espionage! Secrets! Suspense! If you’ve ever dreamed of being a spy, this book is for you.” -Alan Gratz, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee and Projekt 1065

Max Bretzfeld doesn’t want to move to London.

Leaving home is hard and Max is alone for the first time in his life. But not for long. Max is surprised to discover that he’s been joined by two unexpected traveling companions, one on each shoulder, a kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein.

Germany is becoming more and more dangerous for Jewish families, but Max is determined to find a way back home, and back to his parents. He has a plan to return to Berlin. It merely involves accomplishing the impossible: becoming a British spy.

The first book in a duology, Max in the House of Spies is a thought-provoking World War II story as only acclaimed storyteller Adam Gidwitz can tell it—fast-paced and hilarious, with a dash of magic and a lot of heart.

About this title

About the Author

Bestselling author Adam Gidwitz was a teacher for eight years. He told countless stories to his students, who then demanded he write his first book, A Tale Dark & Grimm. Adam has since written two companion novels, In a Glass Grimmly and The Grimm Conclusion. He is also the author of The Inquisitor’s Tale, which won the Newbery Honor, and The Unicorn Rescue Society series. Adam still tells creepy, funny fairy tales live to kids on his podcast Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest―and at schools around the world. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, daughter, and dog, Lucy Goosey.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Once there was a boy who had two immortal creatures living on his shoulders.
 
This was the fourth most interesting thing about him.
 
The first most interesting thing about Max—that was his name—was that he was a genius. He could make a working radio from the junk at the bottom of a trash can, and he could usually predict what someone was going to say ten minutes be­fore they said it.
 
The second most interesting thing about Max was that, when he was eleven years old, his parents sent him away from Germany, where he was born and grew up, to England. All by himself. Even though he’d never been there, didn’t know any­one there, and barely spoke any English.
 
The third most interesting thing about Max was that, when he got to England, he fell in with spies. Real, honest-to-goodness spies. A lot of them.
 
And the fourth most interesting thing about him was that he had two immortal creatures living on his shoulders.
 
But that’s probably what you have the most questions about, so let’s start there.
 
The two immortal creatures appeared the day his parents sent him to England.
 
His family had been arguing about it for weeks. Their small Berlin apartment shook as Max had stomped from the living room to his bedroom to the kitchen and back again, shouting things like:
 
“You can’t make me go!”
 
“Everything is fine! Who cares about the stupid Nazis?! They don’t matter!”
 
“What if you need me?!”
 
And, more quietly, alone in his room, “What if I need you?”
 
But no matter what Max said, his parents had refused to change their minds. His mother had held him at the train sta­tion against her soft stomach, while his small, thin father had stroked Max’s hair. They’d waved as the train pulled out, tak­ing Max and the 198 other Jewish children to Holland and the ferry. Max hadn’t waved back. He’d just stared at them and thought, How could you do this?

Edition details

• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593112083
• ISBN 13: 9780593112083
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320