Published by Chicken House, 2023.

The Wall Between Us is a pacy, high-stakes historical adventure which had me gripped from the outset.

The story is set in Berlin in 1961. Anja and Monika are cousins and best friends – they even share a cat called Otto. When a huge barbed wire fence is built between their apartment blocks, everything changes; their city and family are divided by the Berlin Wall. In the West, Anja is sure it will be taken down, but Monika is afraid. Her world is changing: neighbours keep disappearing, others become spies, and shadowy threats lurk around every corner. Then, Anja discovers that Otto has found a way across. And if he can reach Monika, so can she …

The story is told from the perspectives of the two girls and includes their letters and diary entries, as well as combining newspaper articles, and documents from the secret police. The book offers a fascinating insight into life on both sides of the wall and powerfully evokes the realities of Cold War Berlin. It’s not a topic I’ve encountered in children’s fiction before and will be a subject that’s new to most children, who are likely only to have studied the Cold War in the context of the Space Race.

Dan Smith does a brilliant job of creating the stifling, oppressive atmosphere of East Germany: people are ever watchful, suspicious of neighbours, friends and family – anyone could be an informant. Fear is palpable, particularly in the latter part of the book and during the story’s tense dénouement.

The book also brilliantly explores notions of patriotism and loyalty. The East’s rhetoric of betrayal and being a traitor to the German Democratic Republic (for daring to question the Wall or attempting to leave the East) is evident in communications from the Stasi, and in the messages Monika receives at school and at her youth group, the Young Pioneers.

Most of us would like to think we’d never betray our friends or family. In The Wall Between Us we are shown how, in reality, decisions like this are never easy or straightforward. Compliance with the demands of the Stasi might be motivated by fear rather than a scewed sense of loyalty to the nation.

This is a nuanced, suspenseful book which deftly explores characters living under pressure. It brings a period of recent history alive for young readers and raises important moral questions.

Rating: 💙💙💙💙💙

Suitable for children aged 9+

Thank you to Chicken House for sending me this book to review.