Berliners

By Vesper Stamper

Book Overview

A riveting story about the rivalry between two brothers living on opposite sides of the Berlin wall during its construction in the 1960s, and how their complicated legacy and dreams of greatness will determine their ultimate fate.

A city divided. A family fractured. Two brothers caught between past and present.

Berlin, 1961. Rudi M?ser-Fleischmann is an aspiring photographer with dreams of greatness, but he can't hold a candle to his talented, charismatic twin brother Peter, an ambitious actor. With the sudden divorce of their parents, the brothers find themselves living in different sectors of a divided Berlin; the postwar partition strangely mirroring their broken family. But one night, as the city sleeps, the Berlin Wall is hurriedly built, dividing society further, and Rudi and Peter are forced to choose between playing by the rules and taking their dreams underground. That is, until the truth about their family history and the growing cracks in their relationship threaten to split them apart for good.

From National Book Award-nominated, critically acclaimed author-illustrator Vesper Stamper comes a stark look at how resentment and denial can strain the bonds of brotherhood to the breaking point.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593428366
• ISBN13: 9780593428368
• Release Date: October 2022
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.2" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

A view of a divided city, divided hearts.

Well thought out and clearly explored is another of Ms Stamper's suspensful novels for adults, young and old. Well-defined characters have vivid hand-painted illustrations in neutral tones. I would like to see more of her illustrations. Another work of art is the cover. Each novel of Ms Stamper could stand alone or the first and third can connect. The second, A Cloud of Outrageous Blue, is Historical Fiction set in an earlier period. It would be brilliant to see a sister book to it.