Title: The Fourth Flag
Author: Jamie Barton
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Elsa Schmidt is a pretty girl living in Germany during WW2. The only problem is that she’s Jewish. Her father smuggles her and family out of Germany via currier. They go separately and reunite in Switzerland. To lessen her suspicion while travel, her mother hand makes her a swastika. Elsa’s courier is Markus Spielman. He has a hard heart and a hidden past. Can he put it aside to help Elsa escape? When they do escape, will anyone else meet them there? Elsa arrives first. While there she sees the struggle of others trying to make to safety. She begs Markus to let her help others escape to freedom. He reluctantly agrees. They get separated when Markus gets called away on anther mission. Will she be successful in helping? What if she gets caught? Will her and Markus ever be reunited? Will everyone survive the war? Who will not?
Rating: 4.5 – It’s a unique side of WW2. Accurate with some sappy romance, but not distracting.
Opinion: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Though it’s been a while since I’ve read it, I only have positive memories of it. The only thing that threw me for a loop was that the point of view suddenly changed. I loved the whole story. It was a part of history you don’t hear much about, the underground movement of WW2. Though I wasn’t surprised that it happened, just sad that I didn’t learn more about it sooner. This book is excellent and written by a local author, one of my high school’s history teacher. I’ve leant this book to some of my friends and they’ve all enjoyed it, too. It’s an easy read, but an excellent read.
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