12-year-old Rolf lives with his older brother Romer and their widower Toymaker father in Germany circa 1929. He doesn't know a lot about politics, but he knows that the two new boys in town, Hans and Nils, have some strange ideas. They've joined the youth branch of the growing National Socialist party, which claims it will fix all of Germany's ills by instating strong leadership. And before long, Romer himself has been lured into the Hitler Youth, putting an even larger wedge between the elder brother and the rest of their small family.

Soon, Rolf suspects that Romer may have a hand in the attacks on Jewish shopkeepers in town. But playing sleuth like his favorite storybook hero won't be enough to stop the violence. Before long, he must tell his father. And together, Rolf and his dad witness up close the beginnings of the Nazi Party and its stranglehold on Germany.

Rise of the Spider is the first book in The Web of the Spider, a middle-grade series offering a child's view of the rise of Hitler between the wars. It's a chilling and poignant story: starting with the all-too-common disagreements over the dinner table and "my dad says" commentary and spinning out into violent attacks. Spradlin's prose is perfect for young readers: relatable without being stilted, both insightful and believable for its preteen narrator. This series would make an excellent accompaniment for young students who might find history lessons of a century ago otherwise distant.

Wow. The ending was the perfect lead into the next book in the series. It left me with the feeling of a rubber band about to snap. Right on the brink of chaos. I really enjoyed the story. Even though it’s a work of fiction there’s plenty of material that isn’t fictional. When I was in school we were taught about the holocaust, but we weren’t really told much about Hitler before then. The Beer Hall Putsch was new information to me & I really loved that I learned something new while reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon and Schuster for the advance copy.

The first in a series for middle-grade readers, about how life in a small town in Bavaria changed when the Nazi Party gained power. Not all at once, but gradually, the “Brown Shirts” that had filtered in with smiles and pamphlets began to commit more acts of violence against people who opposed them. When young Rolf sees that his own brother has become a Nazi thug, he is horrified. But Rolf and his father have no idea what to do about it, or how to stop the increasing trouble caused by followers of Hitler…
This powerful series needs to be in every classroom, everywhere. I can’t wait for the next one to come out!
*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*