{"product_id":"walls-9781643750248","title":"Walls","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis powerful Cold War novel tells the story of two cousins, one German and the other an American Army brat, as they navigate the political and social turmoil that threatens their friendship and ends in the abrupt rise of the Berlin Wall-which may separate them forever.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Drew is an army brat in West Berlin, where soldiers like his dad hold an outpost of democracy against communist Russia. Drew's cousin Matthias, an East Berliner, has grown up in the wreckage of Allied war bombing, on streets ruled by the secret police. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From enemy sides of this Cold War standoff, the boys become wary friends, arguing over the space race, politics, even civil rights, but bonding over music. If informants catch Matthias with rock 'n' roll records or books Drew has given him, he could be sent to a work camp. If Drew gets too close to an East Berliner, others on the army post may question his family's loyalty. As the political conflict around them grows dire, Drew and Matthias are tested in ways that will change their lives forever. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Set in the tumultuous year leading up to the surprise overnight raising of the Berlin Wall in August 1961, and illustrated with dozens of real-life photographs of the time, Walls brings to vivid life a heroic and tragic episode of the Cold War. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eL. M. Elliott was an award-winning magazine journalist in Washington, DC, before becoming a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of historical and biographical young adult novels. Her works include \u003ci\u003eUnder a War-Torn Sky\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSuspect Red\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHamilton and Peggy!\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWalls\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBea and the New Deal Horse\u003c\/i\u003e, have won the Scott O'Dell, the VLA Cardinal Cup, and the Grateful American Book Prize for historical fiction, and been named NCSS\/CBC Notables, Bank Street College of Ed. Bests, and Kirkus Bests. Visit her online at lmelliott.com.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Algonquin Young Readers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50379864801554,"sku":"9781643750248","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_81225344-8370-4518-8017-de1f054791b2.jpg?v=1728669983","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/walls-9781643750248","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}