Loved this creative story! Nesbet is a natural at writing unique situations. Loved this story of a child in a very interesting and intriguing situation thanks to his parents. Lots of mystery and lots of fun!

Did not finish. Tried getting into it a few times and just could not. I am sorry but cannot review because did not finish.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction, so when I read the synopsis for this I knew I'd enjoy it. It was my first experience reading about Germany/Europe post-WWII, and after reading this I'm interested in learning more about the period.

But the true reason this book has earned four stars from me is the portrayal of Noah ("Wallfish") and Claudia's ("Cloud") wonderful friendship. I also love its themes of inclusion - Noah has a stutter - and as it's aimed at children, this is SO important!

This was not an "on edge of my seat" read the whole time (I think Code Name Verity is a great example of that), but this certainly hooks readers very early on. So many questions and so much mystery. I didn't know a lot about the separation of East/West Berlin, but enjoyed learning about the time without a preachy narrative. One that I've recommended to plenty of students.

Fascinating read. Have shared this book with middle schoolers and teachers, and all have enjoyed it.

Great book! Love the characters and I think readers will enjoy the story and the time period that this story takes place.

Memorable plot and characters plop the reader into 1980s Germany when the Berlin Wall still divided a nation. Middle School readers will be fascinated by Noah's plight and will find themselves turning page after page of this novel.

Set in East Berlin in 1989, Noah is 11 years old and had lived a normal life in the USA until the day his parents packed his things and told him his name was actually Jonah and they were going to live in Germany for a while. He was forbidden from using his old name and from talking about his other life. Instead, his parents had made him a scrapbook/photo album about his life as Jonah. In Germany, Jonah meets a neighbor girl named Claudia, which pronounced in German sounds like the word cloud with ia at the end. The word for whale - as in Jonah and the whale in German sounds like wallfish in English. The two form a friendship, but are not supposed to even speak to one another. This historical fiction novel is filled with facts about East Germany and the political situation during the time right before the wall came down. The story is interesting and I think that middle grade children will enjoy it.

Very well written for it's target audience, totally engaging (has adventure and suspense, but at a realistic level for its protagonists and readers), and a brief summary of facts at the end of each chapter in this fiction title elevate this book well above what I consider typical pop-reads for children in our current publishing market.

I highly recommend it for grades 3 and up.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free review copy.

I loved this story set in East Germany in the fateful year of 1989. In this book Noah and his family travel to East Germany under the pretense of his mother's research on speech impediments. But things are so weird for Noah - first he has to change his name to Jonah, lie about his past, his age, and he loses the freedom to speak freely. Then when they get there he is even kept from school at first because of his stuttering. Then he meets a girl, Claudia and they become friends - they become Cloud and Wallfish. But Claudia's parents disappear, their friendship is discouraged, and suspicion is all around.

A lovely story leading up to the wall coming down. There are great historical "secret files" which will help orient younger readers. Loved this.