Review Detail

Rise of the Spider

Middle Grade Fiction 209

A Must Read WWII Title

June 13, 2024

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

It's 1929 in the Bavarian town of Heroldsberg, Germany. Rolf, who is 12, is worried about his older brother, Romer. A brilliant soccer player, Romer is increasingly dissatisfied with life, and fights frequently with their father, who runs a toy factory in nearby Nuremberg that is experiencing difficulties. Rolf knows that things are hard in Germany; after the Great War, the country had to pay reparations, and the economy was suffering. Ansel, Rolf's best friend, is well versed in the news of the day because his father is a reporter for the Nuremberg Zeitgeist. When the two friends see Romer talking to two young men, they are worried to find that Hans and Nils have moved to town to set up an office for the National Socialist German Workers Party, better known as the Nazis. While Ansel isn't pleased with the spidery Hans' glib replies and calls Hitler an idiot, Rolf is more circumspect in his speech. He does tell his father, who is not happy that Romer is considering joining the Hitler Youth. Rolf asks if his older brother, Klaus, who died in the Great War, was also troublesome at that age, and the father does remember that Klaus fought quite a lot with his mother, who died of the Spanish flu. Still, when Mrs. Hufnagel's bakery is attacked and set on fire, and Romer's shirt smells of kerosene, Rolf becomes very worried about his brother. When he finds that Romer has traveled to Nuremberg for a rally, he and his father go after them. With things heating up in the country, will Rolf and his father be able to keep Romer safe?

Good Points

Unfortunately, this ends on a cliffhanger, and the next book, Threat of the Spider, doesn't even have a publication date yet! I love the description of what everyday life was like in Heroldsberg, and the information about the economic difficulties makes it easier to grasp why the German people supported Hitler and were coerced into believing his lies about the Jewish population. Almost one hundred years later, many of these details tend to fade away, so Rolf's experiences are a good foundation for understanding how Hitler's rise to power was possible, and how the Holocaust was able to happen.

Spradlin has done a number of books about World War II, including The Enemy Above, Prisoner of War, and Into the Killing Seas, as well as the nonfiction Jack Montgomery: Gallantry at Anzio (Medal of Honor), so he brings not only incredible historical research to this book, but also a good feel for the time
period. As soon as I found out that Rolf's mother had died, I thought "Who's the family's housekeeper/cook?" Sure enough, we soon met Mrs. Holsten, who was supporting her seven children after her husband perished in the Great War. I loved the father's explanation that he had to keep her on as a way to support the economy!

There are many stories of fighting during the war, and of the wide range of experiences of Jewish citizens in horrible circumstances, but in the US, there aren't many stories about how ordinary German citizens lived, and how they felt about the Nazis. I had dear friends who were just about Rolf's age. Both were forced into being in the Hitler Youth, but got into quite a bit of trouble for putting the uniform neckerchief on a dog! Seeing the political events through Rolf's eyes was very interesting, and the stage is set for even more enlightening and exciting adventures. Hand this to readers who enjoyed Smith's My Brother's Secret, Hoose's The Boys Who Challenged Hitler, McCormick The Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero, Osbourne's Winter's Bullet or other books that give more background about the lives of ordinary people during the lead up to World War II.