Into the Fire (Westfallen 2)

4.7

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Author(s)

Ann Brashares

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Ben Brashares

Publisher

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

September 16, 2025

ISBN

978-1665950848

Buy This Book

From #1 New York Times bestselling Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author Ann Brashares and her brother Ben Brashares comes the “resonant and powerful” (School Library Journal, starred review) second book in the action-packed middle grade alternate history thriller trilogy that asks what present-day America would be like if Germany had won World War II.

Former best friends Henry, Frances, and Lukas thought they’d managed to restore history to its original path after their antics with a time-bending radio went awry. But they’re still trapped in Westfallen, the version of present-day America where the Axis won WWII, living an alternate—and much darker—version of their lives.

Henry has to work at the Home for Incurables, Lukas is on hard labor all day, and only Frances, whose parents are members of the Nazi elite, gets to go to school and move freely. And since they and their friends in 1944 destroyed the radio, they have to find cruder and ever-more-desperate ways to communicate across time. Frances uses her privilege in Westfallen to gather as much information as she can, while Henry tries to turn Lukas into a local baseball hero to save him from being sent away to a work camp.

But the deeper the three friends and their 1944 counterparts dig into how Westfallen came to be, the more they begin to attract unwanted attention from people with a vested interest in making sure this version of history becomes permanent…at any cost.

Editor review

1 review

What if Germany won World War II?

January 26, 2026 (Updated: June 19, 2026)

Overall rating

4.7

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

What worked:
This series offers an innovative twist on time travel books. Characters don’t move to different time periods, but kids living in 2023 can communicate with characters living in 1944. Westfallen is the name used instead of the United States after the Nazis win World War II in an alternate timeline. Henry, Frances, and Lukas live in Westfallen, and they’re the only characters in 2023 who know history has been altered. Their mission is to discover what happened 79 years ago that changed the outcome of the war. Then, they must send the information via “magic” radio to Alice, Lawrence, and Artie in 1944 and hope they can fix the historical timeline. To complicate matters, Henry, Francis, and Lukas are living in the bodies of their Westfallen personas, but they don’t know the history of those versions of themselves. Also, Lawrence is black, and Lukas is Jewish, so they have additional struggles in the Nazi society.
The most entertaining aspect of the story is its similarity to a mystery. The kids in 2023 are the detectives, as they try to figure out the time-changing event that happened in 1944. It’s a challenge to locate clues in the present that affected events 79 years ago. Henry thinks he finds a witness in a retirement home, but the man is reluctant/terrified/angry when Henry repeatedly tries to talk to him. Henry and Francis think an accident may be the critical event, but they don’t know why. How can three kids stop the event from happening when the clues aren’t clear? The climax reveals they may not have all of the necessary information, and things don’t go as planned.
The plot offers an innovative twist on a familiar science fiction topic, as the characters communicate across time without needing to travel. In most books, characters are careful not to change events due to unforeseen consequences, but this time, characters do it intentionally. However, they’re still not sure what will happen, and this uncertainty fuels the series. The author introduces things later in the story that once seemed impossible, and the plot’s resolution opens a significant new chapter to the conflict.
What didn’t work as well:
There are six main characters in the two time periods, plus many additional minor characters. The present and the past have several subplots, too. Overall, readers will need to be mentally engaged to keep everything organized in their minds. However, the effort is worth it!
The final verdict:
Readers should start with the first book, Westfallen, or they won’t fully understand what’s happening. The story addresses the question, “What if Germany had won World War II?”, and uses unique ideas to develop compelling alternate realities. I recommend you give the series a shot.