By Dirk Reinhardt (author)
"Moving, gripping adventure story of the anti-Nazi rebellion of an extraordinarily brave band of working class youths in WWII"
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Translated by Rachel Ward
With an illuminating contextualising foreword by Michael Rosen, Dirk Reinhardt’s The Edelweiss Pirates is a tremendously-told story of astonishing courage as a group of young people living under the brutal Nazi regime launch risky rebellions.
The graceful, pacey story begins when sixteen-year-old Daniel encounters an old man, Josef, at a cemetery. Josef is there visiting the grave of his brother, who was murdered during the war. “It’s a long story,” he explains. “But it might interest you. You especially!” Intrigued, Daniel discovers where Josef lives and visits him, whereupon he shares his diary, which reveals how Josef and a band of fellow brave teenagers rebelled against Nazi atrocities.
As a teenager, Josef left the Hitler Youth for The Edelweiss Pirates - a group of compellingly cool youngsters. In his words, “they’ve got style: checked shirts and bright neck scarves, leather jackets and belts with huge buckles. Some have straps on their wrists and kind of fancy hats on their heads”.
Driven by a motto of freedom, the Pirates initially hang out together to enjoy themselves and let loose but, as Nazi atrocities escalate, they plot and implement perilous missions to undermine the regime.
Reeling with details of real-life struggles and feats, and a riveting sense of drama, this is an extraordinary novel about an extraordinary group of youngsters whose lesser-known story reveals the capacity of the human spirit to stand up and risk all to confront barbarism and injustices. It’s a poignant page-turner to the nth degree.
When sixteen-year-old Daniel befriends Josef Gerlach, he feels the old man is haunted by a secret from his past. Sure enough when Josef gives him his teenage diary to read, Daniel discovers a shocking story of rebellion and struggle.
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This diary tells how Josef left the Hitler Youth for a gang called The Edelweiss Pirates.
Their uniform: long hair and cool clothes.
Their motto: freedom!
At first the Pirates are only interested in hanging out and having a good time, but as the situation in Nazi Germany gets worse, they start to plan dangerous missions against Hitler's regime-soon they are fighting for their lives.
The deeper Daniel dives into this past world, the more closely he feels connected to Gerlach, until he realises what the Edelweiss Pirates have to do with him and his own story.
'A powerful, moving and important story' Michael Rosen
'An unknown story we should all know, about the triumph of courage and the human spirit.' Michael Morpurgo
Dirk Reinhardt, born in 1963, studied German and history before becoming a freelance journalist and starting to write books for children and young adults.
The Edelweiss Pirates is his third novel.
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The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Edelweiss Pirates and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
The Edelweiss Pirates features in the following genres: Featured Books for 13+ readers, Recommendations, Gritty Reads, Historical Fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Thrillers, Adventure Stories, Warfare & Battles, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Featured Books for Young Adults
Paperback. £8.99, down from the £9.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Edelweiss Pirates was written by Dirk Reinhardt and published by Pushkin Children's Books
The Edelweiss Pirates has 282 pages
£8.99, reduced from £9.99. In Stock.
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