Friend to Enemy

This is a story of two boys, Benjy and Tommy. They were best friends throughout childhood and spent time at each other's home often. Benjy is Jewish and Tommy is German but it never was anything they even thought about.

Fast forward to the 1930's. Now both boys are growing up into their teen years. Times are changing and Tommy no longer speaks to Benjy, nor does he come to his home. Now Tommy is too busy with his camp. A Hitler Youth camp in the U.S.A. called Camp Nordland.

Benjy is heartbroken to lose his friend. He joins the Newark minutemen. They vow to crush camp Norland and shut it down. Benjy just knows if the camp is gone that Tommy will be his friend again...but will he?

What will happen when the two camps meet, will there be violence? Will the minutemen shut down the Nazi supporting camp?

A coming of age story of two boys thrown into an adult world, pressured by parents to be something they are not. How society can ruin a friendship and the hatefulness of anti Semitisms

It was a sad story based on true events. It was a good book , I felt bad for Benjy and it was sad that Tommy's dad pushed him into joining the camp.

The three narrator's did a great job and made the story come to life. They were easy to listen to and understand.

Thanks to Barbara Krasner for writing the story to bring this little know event to life, to all three narrators for doing a fantastic job, to RB Media for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of the audio book to listen to and review.

Facing the Enemy, written by Barbara Krasner, tells the story of Benjy and Tommy, two boys growing up in New Jersey in the 1930-1940s. They have always been best friends, and yet now their friendship is tested by their differences, Benjy is Jewish and Tommy is German and is being taught Nazi rhetoric. They each have to decide what their friendship is worth, and how to make their own decisions.
I really enjoyed the writing of this book, was not expecting so much poetry and word play but it really worked! I also feel like I learned from this book which I really appreciated, I did not know much about the German Youth Camps in the United States, but I feel that they showed how different beliefs could be spread. I would recommend this book for middle and high school readers.

This novel-in-verse was a great insight into real events in the late 1930s in New Jersey. The story of the Minutemen and the Nazi Youth Camp was fascinating a a history that most readers are likely unfamiliar with. I certainly learned quite a bit from this story.
The dual POVs allowed the reader to understand the story from both sides and to understand both Tommy and Benjy. It's a look at extremism in the past, but it's still very relevant to readers today.
I listened to the audio, but think that I would have enjoyed the experience of reading the book more.

Facing the Enemy is a fantastic historical fiction novel that takes place on the home front during WWII. This novel tells the story of an often overlooks part of the early days of the war. The Nazi party was trying to take a foothold in the United States by recruiting US citizens and through organizations and youth camps that were disguised as German heritage groups. Recommended where WWII books are popular.

We definitely need more books like this so that the effects, struggles, and carnage of the Holocaust are not forgotten. This was a hard read because of all the blatant anti-semitism of the book, but that's the point. I love that Benjy never gave up on Tommy through it all. That's true friendship. This was my 1st book by Barbra Kasner but will not be my last, as I am adding all of her books to my TBR.

#FacingtheEnemy
#NetGalley