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Shadows on the Sea
The Watcher
After Wendy is kidnapped by her own mother, the only way she can survive wartime Germany is with the help of a special dog and the family she never knew she had in this historically accurate, standalone companion to Shadows on the Sea .
1942. Berlin, Germany. How did Wendy end up in such a place? Just a few months ago, she was enjoying her time in Maine, supporting the American war effort.
But she was kidnapped, then betrayed by her own mother, who is actually a Nazi spy. As a new Berliner—and now a German—Wendy is expected to speak in a language she’s never known and support a cause she doesn’t believe in.
There are allies, though, among the Germans. Allies who have been watching over Wendy since she arrived. And Wendy, along with her new German shepherd puppy, must confront them. If only she can find them.
Her life depends on it.
1942. Berlin, Germany. How did Wendy end up in such a place? Just a few months ago, she was enjoying her time in Maine, supporting the American war effort.
But she was kidnapped, then betrayed by her own mother, who is actually a Nazi spy. As a new Berliner—and now a German—Wendy is expected to speak in a language she’s never known and support a cause she doesn’t believe in.
There are allies, though, among the Germans. Allies who have been watching over Wendy since she arrived. And Wendy, along with her new German shepherd puppy, must confront them. If only she can find them.
Her life depends on it.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published November 4, 2014
31 people are currently reading
436 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
May 22, 2023
No, I absolutely do not think that I am either being facetious or overly dramatic starting my review for Joan Hiatt Harlow's 2014 middle grade novel The Watcher by rather pointedly asking why Hiatt Harlow's featured text, why her first person narration story of main protagonist and almost fifteen rear old American teenager Wendy being kidnapped by her Nazi spy and biological German mother, taken to WWII Berlin and then finally escaping from Berlin with a blind friend (and Wendy's German Shepherd Watcher) to neutral Sweden as refugees has a rather high general star rating on Goodreads and elsewhere. Because really, and in my not at all humble opinion, most of The Watcher is pretty strangely textually messy also often really and painfully unbelievable, that in particular how Wendy and her mother end up in Berlin in the first place (and after supposedly travelling from the USA to Germany in a U-boat) and then later in The Watcher Wendy and Barrett's escape from Berlin to neutral Sweden, well, both of these scenarios (and they are indeed primary plot elements for Joan Hiatt Harlow) feel majorly implausible and also rather ridiculously easily accomplished (and yes, even with the barriers Barrett faces due to being blind and that Wendy has no official identity papers in her possession, their escape from Berlin to Sweden at the end of The Watcher just seems as something too good to be true and too unproblematic, too unthreatening and not overly dangerous).
But first and foremost, for me, especially at the beginning of The Watcher, I do have to say that Joan Hiatt Harlow's general penmanship (both with regard to her presented contents/themes and also concerning her narration) is so woefully and universally totally lacking that I almost did decide to not bother continuing with The Watcher past page twenty or so and that I in fact only decided to keep reading because the story does get a bit better and as such also more readable once Wendy meets and talks with blind Barrett and his grandfather Konrad Strohkirsch (who has secretly been monitoring, who has been watching Wendy ever since she arrived in Berlin in order to protect her and to fulfil a promise made to Wendy's deceased biological father). For while The Watcher (and appreciatively so for me) nicely points out and demonstrates how not ALL Germans are supportive of the Nazi regime, and that Joan Hiatt Harlow presents the failed resistance of a group of German Christians called the Bibelforscher, the Weiße Rose (White Rose) as heroic (and even mentions in passing the 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler), that there are groups and individuals in Germany (and sometimes like Barrett's grandfather even part of the Nazi establishment, part of Adolf Hitler's inner circle and government) who are secretly but actively helping people escape from Germany (and who also often end up arrested and generally executed if or when they are denounced either on purpose or inadvertently), this is ALL textually presented by Joan Hiatt Harlow rather a bit too late in the textual game so to speak.
Because and indeed, for me, the beginning of The Watcher, with Wendy's totally unhinged and absolutely pro Adolf Hitler's mother and how she, how Adrie tries to explain and to justify Germans as being some kind of a master race and that there is nothing being said and placed against this even by Wendy, even by her only recently arrived from the USA and in fact kidnapped daughter (and also not by housekeeper Frieda either, who actually, it turns out does not believe ANY of Hitler's evil fantasies), it kind of makes me feel as though I am at the beginning of The Watcher reading with Joan Hiatt harlow's printed words either a propagandistic novel so stereotypical into depicting ALL Germans as being some kind of a master race or an account that makes all Germans and not just Wendy's mother into goose-stepping and hateful Nazis, that yes, this totally and majorly feels to and for me insulting, problematic and that the author, that Joan Hiatt Harlow also seems to have rather an agenda. And while this is later proven to be textually more than a bit wrong regarding The Watcher, said nasty and uncomfortable personal feelings remain in me and in particular because the entire storyline of The Watcher, even when it gets more balanced and nuanced is just not all that believable (see above) and also not really well written either, and with Joan Hiatt Harlow not in any way capturing a realistic sense of geographic place in and with The Watcher.
For and I guess this is the main reason why instead of a low three stars for The Watcher after realising that Joan Hiatt Harlow's storyline does become considerably better and less annoyingly one-sided and stereotypical with regard to thematics and contents after Wendy meets Konrad Kirschstroh and Barrett my rating can and will still only ever be two stars for The Watcher, I really only feel like I am reading about WWII Berlin because I know that The Watcher takes place in WWII and in Berlin (and later also in Northern Germany when Wendy and Barrett are trying to get themselves to Sweden) and that German expressions are being used, are being incorporated into the text, as there in my opinion is NEVER any real and true textual sense of actually being in Berlin, that Joan Hiatt Harlow could basically be writing about any German town or city during WWII, that the sense of being specifically in Berlin is totally and utterly MIA for me.
For honestly, Ms. Hiatt Harlow, if you are writing about the Second World War in Berlin, you should be making ALL your descriptions Berlin-centric, you need to show to us as readers that you know what Berlin was like in WWII, and that no, you absolutely majorly fail with this in The Watcher, that for me, NONE of The Watcher does anything textually positive and realistic concerning geographic place and making the story specifically read like it is set in Berlin, Germany, that in fact, the scenarios in The Watcher with the White Rose (in Munich) and later in Northern Germany, in Denmark and finally in Sweden also tend to show basically no realistic specifics of place for me and to say that this totally annoys me, that is both the truth but also a huge understatement (for it makes The Watcher not really a novel which shows WWII Berlin authentically, and yes, this is as an example really obvious when Joan Hiatt-Harlow describes in The Watcher how Wendy does not notice any food rationing in Berlin such as what has been happening in the USA, which is totally wrong, as there was very much rationing in Berlin during WWII and for the author to textually claim otherwise is totally ridiculous and silly).
And finally combined with the fact that it does indeed majorly chafe and grate how Wendy's mother Adrie is so constantly and over and over and over again being described by Hiatt Harlow in The Watcher as some kind of ridiculous and freakingly exaggerated villainous, totally and utterly brainwashed and freaky Über-Nazi and that Wendy herself for most of The Watcher behaves and acts not like an almost fifteen year old teenager but like a naive and and often annoyingly frustratingly immature and whiny nine or ten year old, I really did not at ALL enjoy reading The Watcher, that I do wonder and question why and how the general star rating for The Watcher is in my opinion pretty overly and problematically universally high and inflated (and that my rating of two stars for The Watcher is actually I being rather majorly overly generous).
But first and foremost, for me, especially at the beginning of The Watcher, I do have to say that Joan Hiatt Harlow's general penmanship (both with regard to her presented contents/themes and also concerning her narration) is so woefully and universally totally lacking that I almost did decide to not bother continuing with The Watcher past page twenty or so and that I in fact only decided to keep reading because the story does get a bit better and as such also more readable once Wendy meets and talks with blind Barrett and his grandfather Konrad Strohkirsch (who has secretly been monitoring, who has been watching Wendy ever since she arrived in Berlin in order to protect her and to fulfil a promise made to Wendy's deceased biological father). For while The Watcher (and appreciatively so for me) nicely points out and demonstrates how not ALL Germans are supportive of the Nazi regime, and that Joan Hiatt Harlow presents the failed resistance of a group of German Christians called the Bibelforscher, the Weiße Rose (White Rose) as heroic (and even mentions in passing the 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler), that there are groups and individuals in Germany (and sometimes like Barrett's grandfather even part of the Nazi establishment, part of Adolf Hitler's inner circle and government) who are secretly but actively helping people escape from Germany (and who also often end up arrested and generally executed if or when they are denounced either on purpose or inadvertently), this is ALL textually presented by Joan Hiatt Harlow rather a bit too late in the textual game so to speak.
Because and indeed, for me, the beginning of The Watcher, with Wendy's totally unhinged and absolutely pro Adolf Hitler's mother and how she, how Adrie tries to explain and to justify Germans as being some kind of a master race and that there is nothing being said and placed against this even by Wendy, even by her only recently arrived from the USA and in fact kidnapped daughter (and also not by housekeeper Frieda either, who actually, it turns out does not believe ANY of Hitler's evil fantasies), it kind of makes me feel as though I am at the beginning of The Watcher reading with Joan Hiatt harlow's printed words either a propagandistic novel so stereotypical into depicting ALL Germans as being some kind of a master race or an account that makes all Germans and not just Wendy's mother into goose-stepping and hateful Nazis, that yes, this totally and majorly feels to and for me insulting, problematic and that the author, that Joan Hiatt Harlow also seems to have rather an agenda. And while this is later proven to be textually more than a bit wrong regarding The Watcher, said nasty and uncomfortable personal feelings remain in me and in particular because the entire storyline of The Watcher, even when it gets more balanced and nuanced is just not all that believable (see above) and also not really well written either, and with Joan Hiatt Harlow not in any way capturing a realistic sense of geographic place in and with The Watcher.
For and I guess this is the main reason why instead of a low three stars for The Watcher after realising that Joan Hiatt Harlow's storyline does become considerably better and less annoyingly one-sided and stereotypical with regard to thematics and contents after Wendy meets Konrad Kirschstroh and Barrett my rating can and will still only ever be two stars for The Watcher, I really only feel like I am reading about WWII Berlin because I know that The Watcher takes place in WWII and in Berlin (and later also in Northern Germany when Wendy and Barrett are trying to get themselves to Sweden) and that German expressions are being used, are being incorporated into the text, as there in my opinion is NEVER any real and true textual sense of actually being in Berlin, that Joan Hiatt Harlow could basically be writing about any German town or city during WWII, that the sense of being specifically in Berlin is totally and utterly MIA for me.
For honestly, Ms. Hiatt Harlow, if you are writing about the Second World War in Berlin, you should be making ALL your descriptions Berlin-centric, you need to show to us as readers that you know what Berlin was like in WWII, and that no, you absolutely majorly fail with this in The Watcher, that for me, NONE of The Watcher does anything textually positive and realistic concerning geographic place and making the story specifically read like it is set in Berlin, Germany, that in fact, the scenarios in The Watcher with the White Rose (in Munich) and later in Northern Germany, in Denmark and finally in Sweden also tend to show basically no realistic specifics of place for me and to say that this totally annoys me, that is both the truth but also a huge understatement (for it makes The Watcher not really a novel which shows WWII Berlin authentically, and yes, this is as an example really obvious when Joan Hiatt-Harlow describes in The Watcher how Wendy does not notice any food rationing in Berlin such as what has been happening in the USA, which is totally wrong, as there was very much rationing in Berlin during WWII and for the author to textually claim otherwise is totally ridiculous and silly).
And finally combined with the fact that it does indeed majorly chafe and grate how Wendy's mother Adrie is so constantly and over and over and over again being described by Hiatt Harlow in The Watcher as some kind of ridiculous and freakingly exaggerated villainous, totally and utterly brainwashed and freaky Über-Nazi and that Wendy herself for most of The Watcher behaves and acts not like an almost fifteen year old teenager but like a naive and and often annoyingly frustratingly immature and whiny nine or ten year old, I really did not at ALL enjoy reading The Watcher, that I do wonder and question why and how the general star rating for The Watcher is in my opinion pretty overly and problematically universally high and inflated (and that my rating of two stars for The Watcher is actually I being rather majorly overly generous).
December 7, 2017
The setting was unique. Wendy, the daughter of a Nazi supporter, is living in Berlin. I can't recall reading much from this point of view, except The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. But Wendy is 15, so she knows more about what is going on around her. Still she is so childish about most of it. Because of the setting, the author could touch on some different topics, like the Lebensborn. I liked that aspect of the book. But the book was predictable and unbelievable at the same time. The way Wendy acted, I kept thinking that she was 10 or 11. Or maybe it's because of the way the book was written? (Even the illustration on the cover depicts a younger girl.) I don't think Joan Hiatt Harlow is a very good author. Plus the copy I read had several editing errors.
April 3, 2017
The novel The Watcher by Joan Hiatt Harlow, a historical fiction novel published in 2014, has a very unique plot and is very inspiring to read. The story takes place in Berlin during the Nazi regime. The main character Wendy, her surname changes from Taylor to Dekker when she is ripped from her home in the United States to go live with her birth mother in the epicenter of Nazi Germany, is an intelligent and determined girl learning the native language quickly. Wendy's comprehension of the German language is demonstrated (on page 202) when the text says, "'He will see when justice is done,' Adrie said quickly in German to Frieda," Wendy has indefinitely shown an ability to understand detailed German sentences spoken very quickly. Her stubbornness is shown when she refuses to leave a neglected puppy she is told will be shot no matter how many times Adrie, her mother, tells her to leave. There are multiple conflicts within this story some internally within Wendy when she is contemplating escaping Germany, and between Wendy and the whole of the German society. Overall Wendy goes an many magnificent adventures that include learning a new language by getting thrown directly into the German society to fleeing a country.
I recommend this book to most middle school students however those who are intimidated by the Nazi regime should stay away, the reading level is moderate without profanity anywhere.
I recommend this book to most middle school students however those who are intimidated by the Nazi regime should stay away, the reading level is moderate without profanity anywhere.
December 16, 2014
It's 1942 and Wendy Taylor finds out that her so called Aunt Adrie is really her mother and now Adrie has kidnapped Wendy from America and given her a new name, Wendy Dekker. Things are so different in Germany--the language;the fact that Wendy's mother is a Nazi spy; the maid;good foods here that were rationed in America; and the fact that someone seems to be spying on Wendy. She discovers a boy's grandfather, who has been watching her secretly,was a friend of Wendy's father, who she never knew, and now learns he was Jewish. Wendy and the grandson become friends and Wendy also meets another friend, Joahanna, in a nursery where they both work at Lebensborn,taking care of Aryan looking kidnapped children from Nazi controlled countries. These children are being raised as little Nazis. This nursery is also a reeducation center to help Johanna deny her Jehovah Witness beliefs or she will be sent to a concentration camp if she continues to be a Bibelforscher.
While Wendy's relationship with her mother was strange, I found it interesting to learn about the Nazi scheme of kidnapping Aryan looking children and the viewpoint of Jehovah Witnesses during the war.
While Wendy's relationship with her mother was strange, I found it interesting to learn about the Nazi scheme of kidnapping Aryan looking children and the viewpoint of Jehovah Witnesses during the war.
June 18, 2017
This is a story about a girl in Berlin during WW2. That caught my attention. I love books about Berlin and I love books about WW2, sadly this book did not meet my expectations. Although there were a lot of accurate details about the time and the place a lot of the author's story was not accurate. The characters were not well-drawn and therefore not believable. You don't say "Ich bin..." to introduce yourself in German. You say, "Ich heisse...". Secondly you don't say you are going, "TO zum Bahnhof." Zum means 'TO the' in German. This book was sprinkled with bits of German language and culture. It got several things wrong. Writers, do your homework, don't make things up if you don't know. The story was painful for me to read because of the aforementioned mistakes and the unbelievable story-line. It was not the page turner I hoped and I will not recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in WW2 fiction. My favorite WW2 fiction book is Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, The Watcher didn't even come close to the awesome story of the Danish people during WW2
April 1, 2016
WWII Berlin, Germany...Wendy moves with her mother from America to Germany. Secrets that have been kept from Wendy come out. Wendy learns Germany does not have freedom of speech or religion and she can't keep silent anymore.
Written for upper elementary grades, it does explore some difficult war issues.
Written for upper elementary grades, it does explore some difficult war issues.
September 22, 2016
This is a fantastic book for 6th or 7th graders. It's a historical fiction about World War II. The story gives younger readers an introduction to this horrific time period.
October 21, 2014
It's 1942 in Berlin, Germany. Wendy has just arrived in Berlin with her newly found mother, Adrie. Wendy's grown up her whole life in America and speaks no German. As happy as she is to be with Adrie, it is hard for Wendy to transition to being a German girl. The war, which seemed so remote in America, is the focus of everything in Berlin, and many things Wendy doesn't understand. It seems she has two choices. She can close her eyes to what's happening, or she can do something about it.
The Watcher is a companion novel to Shadows on the Sea, which I hadn't read. Wendy was a supporting character in that book, and I guess at the end she disappears with her newly discovered mother to Germany. I went a lot of the book thinking that it was going to turn out that Adrie wasn't actually Wendy's real mother, that it was a trick to get Wendy to Germany because they needed an American girl for some secret task. Adrie works for the German military intelligence unit as a spy. I guess if I'd read the other book I would have know that it was true that Adrie was Wendy's real mother. Although honestly, I think it would have made more sense if my idea had ended up being true.
This book didn't work for me very well. I thought it was confusing and choppy. I didn't think it made sense for Adrie to decided that 1942 was the time to let Wendy know she was her real mother and bring her to Germany. Even if she was completely convinced Germany was going to win the war. Why wouldn't she have waited until after? The story of Wendy's father didn't really make sense. Wendy's father was Jewish and they were married briefly but then her father was jailed and Adrie got a divorce and someone was able to make it look like their marriage had never happened and then Adrie got remarried and his name is the name on Wendy's birth certificate, but then Adrie decided to send her daughter to America to be safe, and also to pretend that she was her aunt and that her sister and her husband were Wendy's parents. Yeah. Confusing. And also, it's Germany. You think a member of the Germany military intelligence unit wouldn't have been carefully investigated and it wouldn't have been found out she was married to a Jew? I don't think so.
So the whole premise I found a bit shaky. I liked that the book focused on a couples aspects of WWII that many people would not have heard about. Wendy ends up volunteering at a Lebensborn Nursery. These were places were children who had been kidnapped from other countries because they had the correct Aryan look were taken to be raised to be good German citizens. Lebensborn also housed the children of unwed German women and German soldiers who had been approved as having German ancestors. The children born were taken from their mothers and were considered to belong to the state. At the nursery, Wendy meets Johanna, a girl who has been assigned to Lebensborn for "reeducation." She is a Jehovah's Witness (Bibelforscher), one of the many groups considered undesirable by the Nazis. All Johanna would have to do would be to sign a piece of paper swearing her loyalty to Hitler and Germany and renouncing her religion, but she refuses to do so.
As Wendy befriends Johanna and realizes that Johanna could be sent off to a concentration camp, or killed, for refusing to renounce her religion, Wendy begins to question whether her plan of ignoring the bad things happening around her is going to be possible. Wendy also becomes friends with a blind young man she meets in the park, whose grandfather knows all about Wendy's real father. Wendy also adopts a German Shepard puppy that couldn't make it as an SS dog.
Wendy decides she must escape from Germany and get back to the United States, and the rest of the book is planning and executing the escape. I didn't find it especially gripping or interesting.
So, thumbs up on looking at aspects of WWII that we don't often see in middle grade books. But the books itself I would pass on.
The Watcher comes out November 4, 2014.
The Watcher is a companion novel to Shadows on the Sea, which I hadn't read. Wendy was a supporting character in that book, and I guess at the end she disappears with her newly discovered mother to Germany. I went a lot of the book thinking that it was going to turn out that Adrie wasn't actually Wendy's real mother, that it was a trick to get Wendy to Germany because they needed an American girl for some secret task. Adrie works for the German military intelligence unit as a spy. I guess if I'd read the other book I would have know that it was true that Adrie was Wendy's real mother. Although honestly, I think it would have made more sense if my idea had ended up being true.
This book didn't work for me very well. I thought it was confusing and choppy. I didn't think it made sense for Adrie to decided that 1942 was the time to let Wendy know she was her real mother and bring her to Germany. Even if she was completely convinced Germany was going to win the war. Why wouldn't she have waited until after? The story of Wendy's father didn't really make sense. Wendy's father was Jewish and they were married briefly but then her father was jailed and Adrie got a divorce and someone was able to make it look like their marriage had never happened and then Adrie got remarried and his name is the name on Wendy's birth certificate, but then Adrie decided to send her daughter to America to be safe, and also to pretend that she was her aunt and that her sister and her husband were Wendy's parents. Yeah. Confusing. And also, it's Germany. You think a member of the Germany military intelligence unit wouldn't have been carefully investigated and it wouldn't have been found out she was married to a Jew? I don't think so.
So the whole premise I found a bit shaky. I liked that the book focused on a couples aspects of WWII that many people would not have heard about. Wendy ends up volunteering at a Lebensborn Nursery. These were places were children who had been kidnapped from other countries because they had the correct Aryan look were taken to be raised to be good German citizens. Lebensborn also housed the children of unwed German women and German soldiers who had been approved as having German ancestors. The children born were taken from their mothers and were considered to belong to the state. At the nursery, Wendy meets Johanna, a girl who has been assigned to Lebensborn for "reeducation." She is a Jehovah's Witness (Bibelforscher), one of the many groups considered undesirable by the Nazis. All Johanna would have to do would be to sign a piece of paper swearing her loyalty to Hitler and Germany and renouncing her religion, but she refuses to do so.
As Wendy befriends Johanna and realizes that Johanna could be sent off to a concentration camp, or killed, for refusing to renounce her religion, Wendy begins to question whether her plan of ignoring the bad things happening around her is going to be possible. Wendy also becomes friends with a blind young man she meets in the park, whose grandfather knows all about Wendy's real father. Wendy also adopts a German Shepard puppy that couldn't make it as an SS dog.
Wendy decides she must escape from Germany and get back to the United States, and the rest of the book is planning and executing the escape. I didn't find it especially gripping or interesting.
So, thumbs up on looking at aspects of WWII that we don't often see in middle grade books. But the books itself I would pass on.
The Watcher comes out November 4, 2014.
October 15, 2018
The Watcher is based on a 15-year-old girl named Wendy who discovers that her so-called aunt Adrie is really her mother. Adrie kidnapped her and brought her to Germany. There, she uncovers her whole past. For fifteen years, she was Wendy Taylor, then Wendy Dekker, and now, Wendy Dressner, the daughter of a Jew. She was a Jew living in Nazi Germany. She always felt like an American girl. It's time for her to go back. I really liked how the author showed the German’s side of the story. After the Great War, Germany was under great depression. When the Treaty of Versailles was signed, Germany was blamed for everything. They had to pay for all the war efforts. Not to mention, there was no money, no jobs, and no hope. Then Hitler came along. He gave everyone hope. People listened to him. They believed that it was his undoing, that he could save them all. From this, I can understand why they were so loyal and faithful to him. He was like their savior. They needed him. While reading this, it gave me so many emotions. For instance, on page 160, it quotes, "The Reichsmarschall was angry to the point of trembling. He put out his hand, with his finger, he made a slash across Johanna's throat. 'You will lose your head- just like your brother did.'" This scene made me very mad but at the same time, sad. Even Germans weren't completely free. Just like Wendy said, "There are criminals who steal, who cheat, who murder . . . but they will salute Hitler. Who is the better German- the criminals who disobey the law? Or some quiet, kind person like Johanna, who only asks for her right to worship God first?" The thing I didn't really like was the plot and ending. When Wendy was escaping Germany, I wanted more action and upcoming conflicts with the Nazi. In the end, she got a happy ending, which doesn't seem realistic. During the Holocaust, it was very difficult to leave Germany. It just surprises me that she did it and got the ending she wanted. I would recommend this book to readers of A Friendship For A Day and Touched By Fire.
July 12, 2017
The premise works well, even without reading the original book from which this one emerged asa sequel. There are few books written from "inside" Berlin/Nazi-Germany for young readers, and those that I know of are told by young people who were raised there and noted the changes in their political climate and social pressures gradually, the way a frog or lobster might be cooked by raising the temperature of the water until the deathly boil catches its victim unaware.
IN this case, though, Wendy/Vendy has suddenly been dropped into the boiling water from the comfortable life of a teen in the the USA. I believe that accounts for the tone she portrays- an innocent acceptance but also a challenging questioning of events and statements. Her fluctuations between denial and defiance is telescoped into the short time in which she lives there, and also to her legitimate struggle with who/what can be trusted.
The story unfolds with drama and rich details but also incorporates important historic realities that are less widely known by many: the lebensborn, the Bible Students imprisonment, and others.
I'm happy this was recommended to me and that I read it. It works for MG readers if they are mature, but also is a strong-but-easy read for YA/teens.
IN this case, though, Wendy/Vendy has suddenly been dropped into the boiling water from the comfortable life of a teen in the the USA. I believe that accounts for the tone she portrays- an innocent acceptance but also a challenging questioning of events and statements. Her fluctuations between denial and defiance is telescoped into the short time in which she lives there, and also to her legitimate struggle with who/what can be trusted.
The story unfolds with drama and rich details but also incorporates important historic realities that are less widely known by many: the lebensborn, the Bible Students imprisonment, and others.
I'm happy this was recommended to me and that I read it. It works for MG readers if they are mature, but also is a strong-but-easy read for YA/teens.
June 7, 2016
My mom got this from the library, and I was curious and picked it up.
Now, I am not a big fan of historical fiction, but when I read this book it was a smack in the face of how good historical fiction can be.
I finished it in two days. (I started in the afternoon of one day and the finished it in the morning of the next.)
After I read it, I requested it for my birthday.
Yep, the one who doesn't like historical fiction wanted this book for her birthday to read and re-read. And that is what I did.
Since I got it last year, I have read a total of twelve times. (Not kidding.)
This book will not be leaving my shelf any time soon. (Well, maybe to get replaced.)
Now, I am not a big fan of historical fiction, but when I read this book it was a smack in the face of how good historical fiction can be.
I finished it in two days. (I started in the afternoon of one day and the finished it in the morning of the next.)
After I read it, I requested it for my birthday.
Yep, the one who doesn't like historical fiction wanted this book for her birthday to read and re-read. And that is what I did.
Since I got it last year, I have read a total of twelve times. (Not kidding.)
This book will not be leaving my shelf any time soon. (Well, maybe to get replaced.)
November 24, 2025
This is a book for a preteen and I would not have picked it up had I not found it abandoned in a parking lot. It's definitely written for kids, but I am going to ignore that for my rating because it would be unfair as an adult to rate a middle-grade book the same as I would an adult book.
I found "The Watcher" to be a good, boiled-down explanation of the Holocaust. I think it would be valuable reading for a kid just learning about the horrors of history. There are some deaths that legitimately saddened me. I also thought it was realistic, although frustrating, that so few people speak out directly against the Nazi regime. It would be a good discussion book for a middle school history class.
I gave this book only four out of five stars because it's revealed at one point that Wendy is half Jewish, and then that plotpoint is literally never explored. It was enough that she doesn't agree with the Nazis for her life to be in danger, so why bother having her be half Jewish if that doesn't add anything? She doesn't really ponder it either, or make any attempt to learn more about her culture or anything. It was just a throwaway line that never comes back. I think it needed to be more fleshed out for it to be added at all, because it really wasn't necessary to have in the first place.
I found "The Watcher" to be a good, boiled-down explanation of the Holocaust. I think it would be valuable reading for a kid just learning about the horrors of history. There are some deaths that legitimately saddened me. I also thought it was realistic, although frustrating, that so few people speak out directly against the Nazi regime. It would be a good discussion book for a middle school history class.
I gave this book only four out of five stars because it's revealed at one point that Wendy is half Jewish, and then that plotpoint is literally never explored. It was enough that she doesn't agree with the Nazis for her life to be in danger, so why bother having her be half Jewish if that doesn't add anything? She doesn't really ponder it either, or make any attempt to learn more about her culture or anything. It was just a throwaway line that never comes back. I think it needed to be more fleshed out for it to be added at all, because it really wasn't necessary to have in the first place.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2018
1942. Berlin, Germany.
How did Wendy, an American girl, end up in such a place? Just a few months ago, she was enjoying her time in Maine, supporting U.S was effort.
But she was kidnapped, then betrayed by her own mother, who is actually a Nazi spy. As a new Berliner,-and now a German- Wendy is expected to speak a language she's never known and support a cause she doesn't believe in.
There are allies, though, among the Germans. Allies who have been watching Wendy since she's arrived. And Wendy along, with her new German shepherd puppy, must confront them.
Her life depends on it
COPYRIGHT: 2014 by Joan Hiatt Harlow
How did Wendy, an American girl, end up in such a place? Just a few months ago, she was enjoying her time in Maine, supporting U.S was effort.
But she was kidnapped, then betrayed by her own mother, who is actually a Nazi spy. As a new Berliner,-and now a German- Wendy is expected to speak a language she's never known and support a cause she doesn't believe in.
There are allies, though, among the Germans. Allies who have been watching Wendy since she's arrived. And Wendy along, with her new German shepherd puppy, must confront them.
Her life depends on it
COPYRIGHT: 2014 by Joan Hiatt Harlow
September 12, 2019
I recently finished reading The Watcher. The main character Wendy is such a brave and caring character. Wendy is kidnapped by her aunt Adrie that turns out actually to be her mom. Wendy realizes that her parent back home in Maine was actually her aunt and uncle. Wendy later discovers that Adrie, her mom, is a Nazi spy. She adopts a German Shepard puppy and together they help defeat and confront the Nazis.
I really enjoyed how the author, Joan Harlow makes the world-building such a vivid place, in my own opinion. Also, the plot was excellent and there were lots of good connection to help you piece the book together. The Watcher was such a heart-melting, wonderful book. I am very pleased with this book and I could always read it over and over again
I really enjoyed how the author, Joan Harlow makes the world-building such a vivid place, in my own opinion. Also, the plot was excellent and there were lots of good connection to help you piece the book together. The Watcher was such a heart-melting, wonderful book. I am very pleased with this book and I could always read it over and over again
July 25, 2023
I was going to give this a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ HOWEVER, they go from seeing each other as siblings, to them kissing, to mentioning him as a good son/brother, to them going back to kissing…..idk maybe I missed a chapter or it’s something I’m not picking up here.
All I ask in a book where a pet is mentioned, is that it stays alive. WE DO NOT SUPPORT AUTHORS WHO KILL PETS, because then I would have to cry and then I will have to dox them but whatever.
I’m glad Watcher was brought back to his owner. However, I do wish the epilogue was longer but I’m not going to complain.
Great book. :))))
All I ask in a book where a pet is mentioned, is that it stays alive. WE DO NOT SUPPORT AUTHORS WHO KILL PETS, because then I would have to cry and then I will have to dox them but whatever.
I’m glad Watcher was brought back to his owner. However, I do wish the epilogue was longer but I’m not going to complain.
Great book. :))))
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2019
Always looking for great middle grade WWII historical fiction and this one was really great! It was published back in 2014, but It was always on multiple lists for great historical fiction. It is constant action from the very beginning. It would be great for a read aloud because it would keep the kids attention. My students would take one look at the cover and probably pass it by. The moment I give a book talk about it, that will change.
February 6, 2019
Excellent introductory book about Nazi era Germany for 10-12 year olds. I read this book as part of 5th grade book club that I volunteer with. Same class also read The Boy In the Striped Pajamas which is good, but so vague in the details that for kids who do not know much about that point in history the book loses its impact.
May 20, 2019
the Watcher
This book is during the WWII period. An almost 15 year old American girl is brought over to Berlin by her German spy mother. She is brought over to be a loyal nazi and a Deutshes Machen (german girl).
This book is during the WWII period. An almost 15 year old American girl is brought over to Berlin by her German spy mother. She is brought over to be a loyal nazi and a Deutshes Machen (german girl).
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June 21, 2021this was very detailed in describing the setting and how everything looks and I think that was crucial to this book being so good and really just wanting me to read more. and I think without the character being so smart I wouldn't have liked the book so much and I liked to German Shepherd a lot.
June 28, 2021
The writing felt a little stilted to me, like it was middle-grade content but elementary-level writing. Nevertheless, I thought it did a good job tackling the ideologies of the Nazis from both sides.
June 29, 2017
Such a touching and memorable novel! it is interesting because it shows Germanys point of view as well as an Americans.
July 3, 2017
Should have been a far more compelling read than it was. I found the characters to be rather flat and one-dimensional.
March 4, 2019
Historical fiction, 4-6 grade
May 2, 2019
Great read for young readers about a challenging time in history
February 24, 2020
This book showed just how hard it was for citizens in Germany during World War ll. The author had amazing detail about the littlest things that made the quality of the book so much better.
September 11, 2020
I loved this book!! Ive read it multiply times.
January 20, 2021
Loved this book. :)
June 15, 2022
I've not read it but the cover shows a B-24 in Luftwaffe colors, KG200 did fly the B-24 with German markings but I don't think such an obscure unit features in this book.
February 7, 2024
literally taking a stroll down memory lane! i must have read this book in fourth grade and i still remember it four years later!! this book was great and honestly, i loved it!!
February 9, 2024
Wonderful historical fiction for preteens/teens and adults.
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