Night Divided

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

A Night Divided joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!

With the rise of the Berlin Wall, Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.

But one day on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Gerta concludes that her father wants her and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

• ISBN13: 9780545682428
• Publish Date: 25 August 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 23 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Scholastic US
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

"This story is fictional, but is based on real events and the heroism of those who lived behind a concrete wall that stood for 28 years."
I greatly enjoy historical fiction books and this one made the top of my list. 'A Night Divided' is a YA book but I'm sure many adults such as myself will enjoy this just as much. Jennifer Nielson did a fantastic job creating characters that you could actually attach to. Many times throughout this story I wondered "what if that were me? What would I do?" Bravery is not something we plan though... It's certainly something that is only revealed when we are faced with such situations.

Filled with intense suspense, this story really grips you. Highly recommend.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

A Night Divided takes readers to the eastern side of the Berlin wall and shows them life through the eyes of Gerta, a spunky twelve-year-old who refuses to believe she must accept life the way it is, full of fear and restrictions.  Her constant questioning of the system can at times seem naïve, as though she does not understand the dangers of revolting against the government even as she watches the Stasi come for friends and neighbors, but her determination that things should be different also instills hope in a story that could quickly become deeply depressing.  Gerta, smart and strong-willed in the face of opposition, is a character readers will want to meet.

The plot has one simple goal: Gerta must tunnel to freedom before she is found and killed.  Most middle grade books are optimistic at their cores, so it is difficult to imagine Gerta will eventually meet with anything less than success, yet Nielsen does throw a lot of obstacles in the way of Gerta’s progress to help build suspense.  Practically no one in East Berlin can be trusted when providing the Stasi with juicy information about others can lead to so many rewards, so Gerta is hard-pressed to hide her illegal activities—even from members of her own family.  So while it is hard to think that Gerta might actually be killed in the novel, there is still a sense of danger and pervasive mistrust.

The tone is lightened by the presence of Gerta’s brother Fritz.  Fritz, about to be enlisted into the military and sent on the most dangerous missions as punishment for his father’s supposed crimes about the government, has worries of his own.  Yet he always has a smile for Gerta, time to help her, and quick-witted solutions for many of her problems.  With brothers like Fritz, it is easy to see why Gerta is willing to risk so much for her family.  Gerta’s mother is initially a harder sell—a woman so attached to her home and so afraid of leaving that she is the “reason” half the family is stuck in East Berlin at all.  However, Gerta’s actions help her mother question her own previous decisions, and by the end of the novel all the family has each other’s backs.  Their support for each other provides stability in a world where it is so easy to be suspicious.

A Night Divided lacks the wild sense of possibility, suspense, and surprise that characterized Nielsen’s debut The False Prince.  However, it does feature a strong female protagonist, a thoughtfully elaborate plot, and a good overview of what it would have been like to live in East Berlin.  A great historical fiction choice for a middle school classroom.