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The Web of the Spider #3
The Spider Strikes
Amid the chilling rise of Hitler’s Germany, a twelve-year-old boy and his friends confront rising Nazi threats during a family trip to Austria in this third book in the action-packed middle grade series Web of the Spider for fans of I Survived and A Night Divided.
It’s the summer of 1931 and, like most summers, Joshua and his family are vacationing in Salzburg, Austria. But unlike most years, Joshua is looking forward to escaping the upheaval and bigotry back home in Heroldsberg and the Nazi presence threatening Jewish families like his own. This year, he’s invited his best friends Rolf and Ansel to join him for one last summer before Rolf leaves for America with his father.
But the trip becomes far from relaxing as the Nazis take root in Austria as well, and a gang of Hitler Youth set their sights on Joshua and his friends. When the boys decide to hike up the mountains to camp out at Joshua’s family cabin, things go from bad to worse when they quickly realize they aren’t alone. Can the boys evade the Nazis and make it back to their families safely?
It’s the summer of 1931 and, like most summers, Joshua and his family are vacationing in Salzburg, Austria. But unlike most years, Joshua is looking forward to escaping the upheaval and bigotry back home in Heroldsberg and the Nazi presence threatening Jewish families like his own. This year, he’s invited his best friends Rolf and Ansel to join him for one last summer before Rolf leaves for America with his father.
But the trip becomes far from relaxing as the Nazis take root in Austria as well, and a gang of Hitler Youth set their sights on Joshua and his friends. When the boys decide to hike up the mountains to camp out at Joshua’s family cabin, things go from bad to worse when they quickly realize they aren’t alone. Can the boys evade the Nazis and make it back to their families safely?
- GenresWorld War II
144 pages, Hardcover
Published February 24, 2026
1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Michael P. Spradlin
60 books130 followersMichael P. Spradlin is the author of more than a dozen books for children.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 24, 2025
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
In the Web of the Spider series, we meet three friends growing up in Heroldsburg, Germany in the late 1920s. Rolf's struggle in Rise of the Spider centered around his brother Romer's involvement with the Hitler Youth, and Ansel's difficulties in Threat of the Spider had to do with his reporter father's opposition to the Nazis, and the trouble it caused the family. In this installment, we see things from the point of view of Joshua. His father is a wealthy banker, but the family is Jewish, and worried about the rise of crime and discrimination against German Jews. Since Rolf's father is taking him to America, where an uncle runs a shoe factory, and Ansel's father is recuperating from injuries, the boys are allowed to go to Salzburg, Austria to stay with Joshua's family at their summer house. The boys are excited to see Salzburg, and spend a bit of time in Munich on the way there. Unfortunately, they run into Romer and his associates with the Hitler Youth, and mention in passing that they are on their way to Salzburg. There, they run into more Hitler Youth, including Otto Koch, who is rather threatening. After settling in to the summer house and seeing sights in the town, the boys ask to be allowed to spend a week camping at the family cabin about ten kilometers away, in an area that is being turned into a national forest. Since they have all been involved in the scouts and have some wilderness training, they are allowed to do this. There is a slight problem when one of the few stores for supplies refuses to serve the group because Joshua and his father are Jewish, but soon the boys are snug in the cabin, fishing for food and having a grand time. When Otto appears in the woods, they know they are in trouble, and must use all of their skills to stay safe. There is a fire set on the cabin's porch, so the boys try to snare Otto and his gang in snares, managing to fling some of them into a pit of poison ivy. The two groups tussle with each other until Rolf opens a box with a snake in it, and is bitten. Joshua and Ansel must struggle to carry their friend down from the mountain to get medical treatment, and are aided by an Alpine rescue team. Rolf is okay, but upon their return, the group finds that there are more Nazi flags flying in Heroldsburg. What will the next book bring?
Most of the middle grade fiction books about World War II in Germany concentrate on the fighting, so I was thrilled to see this series of short books that shows what daily life was like leading up to the war. It's all too easy to see the German society as a monolith that supported Hitler and his regime, but this is far from the case. Ansel, Rolf, and Joshua are all from well-to-do families that are all opposed to the hatred being sown in their society, and all work against it in their own ways. The inclusion of Rolf's brother Romer, who is devoted to the Hitler Youth, shows how divisive the situation was to families, and how this often led to families fleeing the country. Hitler's targeting of Jews hits home when we see Joshua and his family before this happens; we can understand even more just how much they are about to lose.
While all three books cover the politics and history of the time well, they also do a good job at showing the boys having exciting adventures. My students will probably be amazed that they were allowed to spend a week alone at the family's cabin with no supervision, but this seems entirely realistic to me. I had friends who grew up in Germany at about this time, and they told tales of long bike trips with friends, skiing excursions, and other outdoor activities that had no adult supervision! While Otto and his group could have seriously hurt Joshua and his friends (and fully intended to), there is also an element of adventure in the back and forth between the groups. While this was cut a bit short for my taste, it made perfect sense. Each of these books are nice and short, which means that my students finish one and are eager for the next. I'm definitely looking forward to more volumes, and to finding out what happens to each of the characters.
Spradlin has done an impressive amount of research to brilliantly portray not only the politics of this era, but also the everyday life in Germany at the time. I have to admit that when the boys were traveling around Salzburg, I did envision them running into the von Trapp children in the streets! Pair this series with fiction books like Smith's My Brother's Secret or Kessler's When the World Was Ours
or nonfiction titles like Bartoletti's Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow or McCormick, Patricia. The Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero. Bartoletti's title includes a photograph of Bonhoeffer's home office which I have always found heartbreaking. This small glimpse of everyday life makes World War II in Germany seem even more crushing, and Spradlin's depiction of Joshua's family gives me the same feeling of devastation.
In the Web of the Spider series, we meet three friends growing up in Heroldsburg, Germany in the late 1920s. Rolf's struggle in Rise of the Spider centered around his brother Romer's involvement with the Hitler Youth, and Ansel's difficulties in Threat of the Spider had to do with his reporter father's opposition to the Nazis, and the trouble it caused the family. In this installment, we see things from the point of view of Joshua. His father is a wealthy banker, but the family is Jewish, and worried about the rise of crime and discrimination against German Jews. Since Rolf's father is taking him to America, where an uncle runs a shoe factory, and Ansel's father is recuperating from injuries, the boys are allowed to go to Salzburg, Austria to stay with Joshua's family at their summer house. The boys are excited to see Salzburg, and spend a bit of time in Munich on the way there. Unfortunately, they run into Romer and his associates with the Hitler Youth, and mention in passing that they are on their way to Salzburg. There, they run into more Hitler Youth, including Otto Koch, who is rather threatening. After settling in to the summer house and seeing sights in the town, the boys ask to be allowed to spend a week camping at the family cabin about ten kilometers away, in an area that is being turned into a national forest. Since they have all been involved in the scouts and have some wilderness training, they are allowed to do this. There is a slight problem when one of the few stores for supplies refuses to serve the group because Joshua and his father are Jewish, but soon the boys are snug in the cabin, fishing for food and having a grand time. When Otto appears in the woods, they know they are in trouble, and must use all of their skills to stay safe. There is a fire set on the cabin's porch, so the boys try to snare Otto and his gang in snares, managing to fling some of them into a pit of poison ivy. The two groups tussle with each other until Rolf opens a box with a snake in it, and is bitten. Joshua and Ansel must struggle to carry their friend down from the mountain to get medical treatment, and are aided by an Alpine rescue team. Rolf is okay, but upon their return, the group finds that there are more Nazi flags flying in Heroldsburg. What will the next book bring?
Most of the middle grade fiction books about World War II in Germany concentrate on the fighting, so I was thrilled to see this series of short books that shows what daily life was like leading up to the war. It's all too easy to see the German society as a monolith that supported Hitler and his regime, but this is far from the case. Ansel, Rolf, and Joshua are all from well-to-do families that are all opposed to the hatred being sown in their society, and all work against it in their own ways. The inclusion of Rolf's brother Romer, who is devoted to the Hitler Youth, shows how divisive the situation was to families, and how this often led to families fleeing the country. Hitler's targeting of Jews hits home when we see Joshua and his family before this happens; we can understand even more just how much they are about to lose.
While all three books cover the politics and history of the time well, they also do a good job at showing the boys having exciting adventures. My students will probably be amazed that they were allowed to spend a week alone at the family's cabin with no supervision, but this seems entirely realistic to me. I had friends who grew up in Germany at about this time, and they told tales of long bike trips with friends, skiing excursions, and other outdoor activities that had no adult supervision! While Otto and his group could have seriously hurt Joshua and his friends (and fully intended to), there is also an element of adventure in the back and forth between the groups. While this was cut a bit short for my taste, it made perfect sense. Each of these books are nice and short, which means that my students finish one and are eager for the next. I'm definitely looking forward to more volumes, and to finding out what happens to each of the characters.
Spradlin has done an impressive amount of research to brilliantly portray not only the politics of this era, but also the everyday life in Germany at the time. I have to admit that when the boys were traveling around Salzburg, I did envision them running into the von Trapp children in the streets! Pair this series with fiction books like Smith's My Brother's Secret or Kessler's When the World Was Ours
or nonfiction titles like Bartoletti's Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow or McCormick, Patricia. The Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero. Bartoletti's title includes a photograph of Bonhoeffer's home office which I have always found heartbreaking. This small glimpse of everyday life makes World War II in Germany seem even more crushing, and Spradlin's depiction of Joshua's family gives me the same feeling of devastation.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
It continues to frighten and infuriate me that books like these aren't merely a snapshot of a period in time but a very necessary and urgent warning of the road we must not presently travel.
As with the prior books in The Web of The Spider series, set during Hitler's rise to power in 1930s Germany, we have a different narrator, one of a group of young friends. Joshua Greenburg hasn't always been aware of antisemitism, growing up in the small town of Heroldsberg. But with Hitler Youth coming to town and the German economy crumbling, it's nigh on impossible to avoid the way that the Nazis are increasingly blaming Jews like himself for all the troubles befalling the country.
Germany has become so oppressive and awful for people who don't sympathize with the ruling regime that Joshua's friend Rolf and his father are planning on moving to America soon. They have family there, and hopefully distance will allow them to get over the heartbreak of losing Rolf's older brother Romer to Hitler Youth.
Rolf and Joshua have only just helped their other friend Ansel rescue his journalist father from the Nazis. Ansel's dad's only crime was in reporting the truth, which has come under increasing attack from the government. It's been a pretty awful several months for the three friends, who just want to play football, read adventure stories and brush up on their Scouting skills.
In hopes of cheering his friends up ahead of Rolf's impending departure, Joshua invites Rolf and Ansel to join his family for their summer vacation in Salzburg, Austria. In addition to being able to explore the historic city, the boys have the opportunity to hike out to the Greenburgs' cabin, in a woodland that the Austrian government is setting up as a recreation and tourism area. It sounds like the perfect last hurrah... until the boys discover that antisemitism has not been contained by Germany's borders. Worse, the Hitler Youth are present out here on the mountains, too. When a gang of young Nazis decides to target the three friends, will our heroes be able to outwit them and make it safely home?
I have three sons in their young teens, and one of my greatest joys is watching them play together in the forest by our closest creek. I'm very much a free-range mom who encourages my kids, now that they're old enough, to explore the neighborhood and learn self-sufficiency. One of the happiest days of my parenting life occurred when my eldest was accepted to the magnet high school about a mile down the road, and I could give him a metro card and my blessing to take the city bus whenever he didn't feel like walking.
But nowadays I worry. With brown-looking kids being snatched off the street and transported miles away by government thugs -- at best to be dropped off without their belongings after being roughed up only a little, at worst to disappear into for-profit prisons that are slowly turning into concentration camps -- I can't help but be fearful for my own kids. I badger my eldest to carry his passport card in the wallet I got him for Christmas. My youngest kids have speech delays, which is another source of anxiety should they need to interact with hostile authorities.
Books like this give me some faith that I'm raising kids smart and resourceful enough to survive in a world that feels increasingly dystopian for people who look like us. Michael P Spradlin's genius with this series lies in how he depicts the horrors as beginning only gradually. Germany didn't have an example to study of what not to do but the rest of us do. I sincerely hope that the next book in the series -- because this one certainly ends on a cliffhanger! -- goes back to feeling like a portrait of terrible days gone by and not a warning of what's next.
Highly recommended for any child and parent concerned about the current state of the world and how history repeats itself.
The Spider Strikes by Michael P Spradlin will be published tomorrow February 24 2026 by Margaret K. McElderry Books and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
This review originally appeared at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
As with the prior books in The Web of The Spider series, set during Hitler's rise to power in 1930s Germany, we have a different narrator, one of a group of young friends. Joshua Greenburg hasn't always been aware of antisemitism, growing up in the small town of Heroldsberg. But with Hitler Youth coming to town and the German economy crumbling, it's nigh on impossible to avoid the way that the Nazis are increasingly blaming Jews like himself for all the troubles befalling the country.
Germany has become so oppressive and awful for people who don't sympathize with the ruling regime that Joshua's friend Rolf and his father are planning on moving to America soon. They have family there, and hopefully distance will allow them to get over the heartbreak of losing Rolf's older brother Romer to Hitler Youth.
Rolf and Joshua have only just helped their other friend Ansel rescue his journalist father from the Nazis. Ansel's dad's only crime was in reporting the truth, which has come under increasing attack from the government. It's been a pretty awful several months for the three friends, who just want to play football, read adventure stories and brush up on their Scouting skills.
In hopes of cheering his friends up ahead of Rolf's impending departure, Joshua invites Rolf and Ansel to join his family for their summer vacation in Salzburg, Austria. In addition to being able to explore the historic city, the boys have the opportunity to hike out to the Greenburgs' cabin, in a woodland that the Austrian government is setting up as a recreation and tourism area. It sounds like the perfect last hurrah... until the boys discover that antisemitism has not been contained by Germany's borders. Worse, the Hitler Youth are present out here on the mountains, too. When a gang of young Nazis decides to target the three friends, will our heroes be able to outwit them and make it safely home?
I have three sons in their young teens, and one of my greatest joys is watching them play together in the forest by our closest creek. I'm very much a free-range mom who encourages my kids, now that they're old enough, to explore the neighborhood and learn self-sufficiency. One of the happiest days of my parenting life occurred when my eldest was accepted to the magnet high school about a mile down the road, and I could give him a metro card and my blessing to take the city bus whenever he didn't feel like walking.
But nowadays I worry. With brown-looking kids being snatched off the street and transported miles away by government thugs -- at best to be dropped off without their belongings after being roughed up only a little, at worst to disappear into for-profit prisons that are slowly turning into concentration camps -- I can't help but be fearful for my own kids. I badger my eldest to carry his passport card in the wallet I got him for Christmas. My youngest kids have speech delays, which is another source of anxiety should they need to interact with hostile authorities.
Books like this give me some faith that I'm raising kids smart and resourceful enough to survive in a world that feels increasingly dystopian for people who look like us. Michael P Spradlin's genius with this series lies in how he depicts the horrors as beginning only gradually. Germany didn't have an example to study of what not to do but the rest of us do. I sincerely hope that the next book in the series -- because this one certainly ends on a cliffhanger! -- goes back to feeling like a portrait of terrible days gone by and not a warning of what's next.
Highly recommended for any child and parent concerned about the current state of the world and how history repeats itself.
The Spider Strikes by Michael P Spradlin will be published tomorrow February 24 2026 by Margaret K. McElderry Books and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
This review originally appeared at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
February 26, 2026
Friendship reigns as the world around three boys falls apart, and they do their best to handle a dangerous and increasingly impossible situation.
Each book in this series switches viewpoints between three friends (Rolf, Ansel, and Joshua), and this time, readers get to see the world through Joshua's eyes. With the growing Nazi influence, Joshua's Jewish family is especially at unease over the increasing tensions. After shots are fired in their town of Heroldsberg and Ansel's reporter father is injured in the crossfire, the boys follow Rolf's family to Salzburg, Austria for some needed reprieve. Plus, Rolf is about to head to America with his father, and this will give them a last chance to really enjoy hanging around each other, but during their arrival, they immediately cross paths with Rolf's older brother's troop of Hilter Youth. Thanks to their survival training, Rolf's father agrees to let them steer clear of everything and stay alone at a nearby cabin he owns in the woods. While this should give them space from the growing threats, one of the members of Hitler Youth has made it his mission to deal with them, and he isn't going to give up.
There are several aspects about this book and series, which make it highly recommendable. First, it's short. The adventures are deep and pack plenty of food for thought and historical goodness, and yet, they don't weigh down. They deliver the excitement in less than 150 pages, which makes it one to even, maybe, attract more reluctant readers. Second, the author has done his due diligence on the research end and brings this time period to life with finesse. The boys come across very naturally, give a sense of familiarity to draw in, and still, the historic setting and situation is never forgotten. Readers can sink into the tension, understand the issues, and not ever feel like they're learning history along the way. Third, the adventure remains high right along with the conflicts and character arcs. The book begins with high-tension and obvious danger, drawing in right away. As tension eases, the pacing doesn't stop but let's the worries and concerns continue to drive things forward. Before this grows too heavy, the next tense scene flows in again. It makes for an exciting read.
I think this is the first time I've seen a middle grade series concentrate on the rise of the Nazis, and it take the time to dive into the situation (a bit, at least) leading up to the war. The three friends each have different backgrounds, letting readers see how different people were affected and their differing, yet, similar fears and concerns. In this book, for example, Rolf's growth becomes clear, especially in dealing with his Hitler Youth brother. So, the author is weaving in quite a bit of depth without ever letting it bog down the other aspects of the read.
I enjoyed this latest adventure even more than the last and am very curious what will happen next because there is, obviously, more to come.
Each book in this series switches viewpoints between three friends (Rolf, Ansel, and Joshua), and this time, readers get to see the world through Joshua's eyes. With the growing Nazi influence, Joshua's Jewish family is especially at unease over the increasing tensions. After shots are fired in their town of Heroldsberg and Ansel's reporter father is injured in the crossfire, the boys follow Rolf's family to Salzburg, Austria for some needed reprieve. Plus, Rolf is about to head to America with his father, and this will give them a last chance to really enjoy hanging around each other, but during their arrival, they immediately cross paths with Rolf's older brother's troop of Hilter Youth. Thanks to their survival training, Rolf's father agrees to let them steer clear of everything and stay alone at a nearby cabin he owns in the woods. While this should give them space from the growing threats, one of the members of Hitler Youth has made it his mission to deal with them, and he isn't going to give up.
There are several aspects about this book and series, which make it highly recommendable. First, it's short. The adventures are deep and pack plenty of food for thought and historical goodness, and yet, they don't weigh down. They deliver the excitement in less than 150 pages, which makes it one to even, maybe, attract more reluctant readers. Second, the author has done his due diligence on the research end and brings this time period to life with finesse. The boys come across very naturally, give a sense of familiarity to draw in, and still, the historic setting and situation is never forgotten. Readers can sink into the tension, understand the issues, and not ever feel like they're learning history along the way. Third, the adventure remains high right along with the conflicts and character arcs. The book begins with high-tension and obvious danger, drawing in right away. As tension eases, the pacing doesn't stop but let's the worries and concerns continue to drive things forward. Before this grows too heavy, the next tense scene flows in again. It makes for an exciting read.
I think this is the first time I've seen a middle grade series concentrate on the rise of the Nazis, and it take the time to dive into the situation (a bit, at least) leading up to the war. The three friends each have different backgrounds, letting readers see how different people were affected and their differing, yet, similar fears and concerns. In this book, for example, Rolf's growth becomes clear, especially in dealing with his Hitler Youth brother. So, the author is weaving in quite a bit of depth without ever letting it bog down the other aspects of the read.
I enjoyed this latest adventure even more than the last and am very curious what will happen next because there is, obviously, more to come.
February 24, 2026
👦🏻 review: I have been following this series for awhile and I have come to appreciate the characters, lifestyles, challenges, obstacles and perseverances. Also, the story has realistic expectations with mentioned locations, themes and characters. This series has featured many short books that kept my interest and attention on the spot. I enjoyed the quick pace, plot, historical fiction, development and the twists. Personally I think this book is perfect for younger readers because I know they will enjoy the quick and fast-paced nature of the story so they can be done in one sitting. Absolutely worth reading.
March 6, 2026
Michael P. Spradlin delivers Book 3 in the Web of the Spider series. He does an amazing job of recreating the historic era leading up to World War II in Germany. The historic facts, as well as the climate of the times, are invoked to present an enjoyable and informative read. This is a great way to inform young readers about history and allow them to learn about antisemitism and other forms of racism, as well as government, and how this scenario can happen. These lessons are compelling and very relevant today!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
March 20, 2026
Enjoyed the friendship theme and the setting before WWII in Germany and Austria.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews