Follow the Star

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8In post-World War II Denmark, 13-year-old twins Peter and Elise Andersen and their friend Henrik Melchior find themselves in a precarious situation. Henrik's father, who died during the war, had left a letter in a Hebrew book for his son. The three set out to find the book that disappeared during the occupation. That search becomes of secondary importance when Henrik's mother and a family friend, Matthias Karlsson, fail to return from a short flight to Sweden. A mysterious phone call informs them that Mrs. Melchior and Matthias are being held captive as spies by the Russian military on the occupied Danish island of Bornholm. The twins' uncle persuades their parents to let him take the three teenagers to Bornholm by boat to search for and rescue the missing couple. In typical fashion, the Russians deny the existence of the two adults, but two teenagers who had been in the underground know about the situation and orchestrate the eventual rescue. The escape is successful, but not without danger as the group must contend with the sabotage of their boat before their safe arrival home. A good bloodless mystery.Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS